DOE releases plan to cut coliform levels

At its highest flow, the South Fork Palouse River needs a reduction in the amount of fecal coliform living in it by 72 percent to meet federal Clean Water Act standards.

A draft report of the Washington State Department of Ecology plan to reduce bacteria counts in the South Palouse River has been completed and is posted on the agency’s web site.

Several tributaries of the Palouse River, downstream from the South Palouse junction at Colfax were also listed as impaired waterways, even in wet seasons. According to the report, Dry Creek needs a 69 percent reduction of fecal coliform. Union Flat Cr...