Report Pollution

Water pollution comes from a variety of sources. It is economically unfeasible to have pollution inspectors everywhere 24 hours a day. However, citizen reporting of pollution problems can help fill gaps in water quality protection.

How Citizens Can Help

Your observations can help federal, state, and local officials investigate and prosecute, if necessary, pollution of local waters. By taking good notes, and perhaps a picture or two, you can help local authorities respond to pollution when it is occurring. There are two ways to report pollution:

Where We Need Your Help

Typical problems you can identify and report for further investigation include:

  • Emergency Situations - A sudden threat to human health or the environment is an environmental emergency. Examples include spills of raw sewage, gasoline, chemicals, or radioactive discharge. Because of the potential for the presence of hazardous gases and other serious threats, do not attempt to document an environmental emergency. Immediately report the location of the event to 911.
  • Erosion - Wherever land clearing activities are taking place there is a potential for erosion. Erosion clogs streams and suffocates fish. If you see brown, sediment-laden water entering a ditch or stream, it should be reported.
  • Manure Problems - Farmers reapply manure as fertilizer during the growing season. If you observe manure being sprayed during the winter or oversprayed onto roadways or into local streams or ditches, report this. If you observe manure from equestrian facilities that can be polluting a creek, report this.
  • Petroleum Spills - Spills of oil and other petroleum products can be harmful for both people and fish. (Note that gasoline spills are listed under "emergency situations." Be careful in approaching these pollutants to protect your personal health and safety. The Washington State Department of Ecology and Snohomish County's Surface Water Source Control Program should do any close investigations of these pollutants types.

Mysterious, But Not Dangerous

There are a few "not-so-obvious" situations where natural conditions create what appear to be serious pollution problems. Examples include:

  • Iron Oxide Discharges - When oxygen poor, iron rich water surfaces, the iron becomes oxidized. This orange precipitate, iron oxide, helps support stringy algal growth, which is also orange. Much or all of a stream bottom and edge can turn orange in color from this growth.
  • Foam - It is normal for some creeks to have a small amount of foam. The foam is caused by proteins and is not a pollution indicator. If you see handfuls of suds, it is probably due to soap, not this natural cause.
  • Tannins and Lignins - These natural compounds are derived from leaves and other organic materials and turn water a deep brown tea-like color. Some healthy water bodies have this color due to the presence of deciduous leafy material or a peat bog upstream.

How Your Information will be Used

Local governments have different policies on how to respond to pollution events. Your information alerts local authorities and may lead to additional collection of evidence and possible enforcement. Most agencies consider technical assistance first before penalizing a polluter. All responses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and generally consider:

  • Past history of the violator
  • Impact on the environment
  • Was the violation done knowingly

Local authorities cannot promise that staff will be available to respond to all calls, but your information will be used to prioritize resources when constraints exist.