TULALIP — Tulalip Bay is one of north Snohomish County’s picturesque gems, but the Tulalip tribal government says it is suffering from pollution caused by development.
The bay sits at the bottom of land mass that is nearly funnel-shaped, with higher ground on three sides. The geography allows storm water and other polluted liquids to easily drain right into the bay, where Tulalip Indians have fished for generations.
Now, tribal leaders hope to change that. There’s little they can do to stop runoff completely, but tribal crews are scheduled to begin construction in November on a wetland area that will filter pollutants out of runoff before it continues into the bay.
“Because we’re treating pollutants in this artificial wetland, you’ll never have the diversity and highly functioning habitat of a natural wetland,” tribal planner Val Streeter said in a prepared statement. “But the bigger benefits will remain.”
Tribal crews plan to install two drains to feed into the wetland, which will act as a filter to clean metals and other pollutants out of the water. The water will settle in a pond fortified by soil with high organic content that can trap and hold pollutants. The pond will be ringed with plants and other greenery that will continue to naturally cleanse the water before it flows into the bay.
“Assuming the water sits long enough, it will come out clean,” Streeter said.
The wetland project is part of a larger tribal effort to identify pollutants on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Tribal leaders also plan to focus on bringing low-impact development to the area.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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