The Joys of Simple Living: Water

[lumberjack_jeff]

26. WA DOE is trying to get Puget Sound designated as a no discharge zone.

It's a bad idea. Specifically their insistence that "nutrient loading" is a problem.

In 1900, the sound was teeming with life because of the nutrients running off the forested land into the sound. As the area developed, that nutrient level (and biological mass) was maintained by sewage waste discharged into the sound (not optimal because of the bacteria involved). Now that the forest runoff and the sewage have both been eliminated, the sound is mostly sterile of marine life.

Salmon populations are down 70%+

All marine toilets are part of a MSD. Type 1 msd's reduce bacteria count to 1000 per 100ml. Type 2's reduce it to 200 per 100ml. Type 3's are holding tank/no treatment.

1000 per 100ml is a benign level. There are systems which function by electrically turning salt water into chlorine through electrolysis then treating the waste with that, and there are others which disinfect the waste using tablet or liquid chlorine. There are still others which incorporate bacterial digestion into the system.