Department of Geology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 99362
One summer I worked
for the City of Everett's Public Works Department testing stream
quality. Everett has an annual fire hydrant flushing program that
is done in order to maintain high drinking water quality within
the water mains. My job was to determine which drainage basin the
flush water entered and where it would outfall into the environment.
I then had to test the water at its outfall to determine the amount
of chlorine that was entering the environment. I also tested the
turbidity of the outfall water. I then entered this data along with
other pertinent information into a database. These tests were done
to try to determine whether or not the flushing was having a negative
effect on the creeks within the city. Stream quality has become
more of a concern in Everett with the Chinook and Coho salmon recently
being added to the endangered species list and as the city's population
is expanding.