All the water which has ever existed on earth is here today.
We can't make more water. The water from monsoons, hurricanes and snowstorms has been here as long as the planet. The water trapped in icebergs and glaciers has been here for billions of years.
I got to thinking about this the other day as I watched a Great blue heron fishing in the early evening light. The golden surface of the water seemed so perfect. The blue sky appeared momentarily in the ripples caused by the bird's plunging beak. And, the forage fish that the heron was eating seemed so plentiful.
And yet, this pristine moment was not so bucolic as it looked. And, the bountiful feast was plentiful, but not guaranteed.
The heron was fishing in Puget Sound at the mouth of Moxlie Creek. Moxlie Creek spends at least half of its 2.5 mile length underground, in pipes that flow below parking lots and city streets. At its headwaters, in beautiful Watershed Park, the creek flows freely and cleanly through a temperate rain forest which has been preserved since the 1960s. Ringing the park are thoroughfares and residential neighborhoods, with storm drains which drain into the watershed. Many people believe that storm water is treated at the wastewater plant. In reality, most of it flows directly into streams, lakes and Puget Sound.
Olympia is at the southernmost end of Puget Sound. It is said that it takes a week for the salt water in Seattle to be replenished with water from the ocean. The Narrows at Tacoma and other factors such as fresh water in flow mean a much longer time for South Puget Sound water to be exchanged with the Pacific Ocean. Because of our slow drainage and extensive mudflats, we are particularly sensitive to the build up of toxins caused by runoff of street pollutants, heavy metals and fertilizers. As nitrogen levels increase during the summer, plankton can grow creating harmful algal blooms, choking the light and food fish need to thrive in our waters.
Our friend Smokey Bear says "Only you..." and he's right. By doing a few things like picking up after your dog, fixing oil leaks and using slow release organic soil amendments you and I can ensure a few more beautiful, peaceful evenings watching herons against a backdrop of clean, plentiful water.
Hidden Waters Blog, a blog about urban streams, creeks and rivers which have been covered in favor of urban development has an extensive, well written description of Moxlie Creek. The blog is written by Sergey Kadinsky, a staffer at the New
York City Department of Parks & Recreation and an adjunct professor of
history at Touro College.
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