A short couple of decades ago, the beaches along Ocean Shores, WA, were bermed by natural sand dunes and covered in dune grasses for so many miles to the north along its precious natural marine environment. Today there are the same sand dunes and dunes grasses, but now covered in condos and foamy wastewater effluent. Interestingly, the adjacent Ocean Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant is based on an 1800s design, whereby there is less than minimal treatment at all. Amazingly, twice each day, specifically at high tide, the computer-driven gates at the wastewater treatment plant discharge lagoon open to release the partially treated sewage effluent into Grays Harbor channel. Grays Harbor then empties immediately to the Pacific Ocean, where the north-trending currents and the east-trending winds carry the foamy sewage plant wastewater effluent up on the beaches from Ocean Shores all the way north perhaps to Pacific Beach. We watched as the windsurfers cut in and out, up and down along the beach, right from the very foamy mouth of Grays Harbor and up along the coast, making slices through the foamy wastewater effluent, while the kiddies on vacation frolicked in the foam on the beach - nice vacation. The very old style Ocean Shores wastewater treatment plant is corroding away as we speak, yet the City has no funds to make repairs, and the Department of Ecology just gave them yet another award for ‘Excellence.’ OMG! Were on it. In addition, all of the major Salmon rivers that flow to Grays Harbor are “Impaired,” according to Ecology, with excessive concentrations of E. coli, among other infectious agents. These rivers and this harbor represent one of the greatest historical and current Salmon runs of the US Pacific Northwest coast. Its all about the influx of tourists, condos, beach homes, camp grounds, casinos and a population migration to the beach, way ahead of infrastructure development. Whoever issued the permits for all of this heinous development, without consideration of the needed infrastructure beforehand needs a new job, and the State allowed and permitted it. ‘Tourist stay home,’ at least until the infrastructure is developed to accommodate your wastes.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 03:55:43 +0000
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