Duwamish River Boat Patrol by Nhy Tran

Duwamish River Boat Patrol 

By: Nhy Tran 

     On January 16, I participated in a three-hour service learning on the event Duwamish River Boat Patrol. While on the boat, we were patrolling around the Duwamish River as keep an eye out for unusual outfall from stormwater pipes and combined sewer overflows. Also, we had to monitor if there are any nearby industries discharge toxic materials into public waters that violate the rules, then we have to report to the Department of Ecology. 

     Along the way, Kerry McGowan, who is in charge of the event, told us about the history of how Seattle industries developed to where they are now. In the past, the area nearby Duwamish River was very emptied, and nowadays many factories built up and cover the land along the river. Since there are a lot of industries, it is very hard to control the water waste; however, it is crucial to monitor and keep the water at its permitted conditions.

 Figure 1: The Puget Sound

Figure 2: One of the factories that I captured while patrolling 

     While patrolling, Kerry said about how the dead zones could have happened if there are excessive nutrient pollution in the water, which will deplete the oxygen to support the marine life in the bottom and near-bottom water. This connects to the topic of respiration that we learned in class, organisms needs oxygen in order to survive as they are doing gas exchange. Therefore, it was necessary to build up an instream habitat along the river for enhancing habitats for fish and other aquatic organisms.       

 Figure 3: An instream habitat along the river 

Figure 4: Another instream habitat along the river 

     After doing this service learning, I have a thought of people should be aware the surrounding environments, and take note of the waterway's pollution is one of the sign that humans have exceeded the limits. Therefore, I see how importance it is for me to have a chance of being a part of this service learning to help the community. 

     Questions:

    - What are other ways that we can do to enhance the habitat for the aquatic organisms in the river?

    - What can we do to make everyone be aware of how much wastes we put in the waterways?

    - How can we help to prevent dead zones in the rivers?

    - What would happen to the factories that discharge toxic wastes into the rivers which violate the rules?

     Contact information: 

     Kerry McGowan

     Phone: (206) 297-7002

     kerry@pugetsoundkeeper.org