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The following e-mail was received by WDFW Director Jeff Koenings
Date: Mon., Jan 14, 2002 3:00 PM Subject: A note of thanks. Dr. Jeffrey P. Koenings,
Dear Dr. Koenings, I am writing to thank your department for its excellent and professional response regarding the recent 4 day raw sewage discharge in Lake Whatcom. All of your people involved have shown outstanding concern for the fishery and the safety of the public regarding this incident. In fact, one of your Field Biologists from your La Conner Office showed some exceptional concern for the public. On his afternoon off, I had convinced Mr. Alan Looff to take photographs with me of all the tributaries of Lake Whatcom to document the excessive turbidity and sedimentation. We drove all around Lake Whatcom taking video and digital photos. The streams are all muddy brown from the rains. When we reached the Sudden Valley part of the lake we saw the literal river of sewage being dumped into Lake Whatcom via Austin Creek. (see photos at http://www.lakewhatcom.org ). Mr. Looff took some video and photos of the mess and then warned several children to stay out of the torrent of sewage. Then Alan Looff drove to a phone to report the huge sewage dumping to Dept of Ecology. Mr. Looff also took his camera out on Sunday to see if DOE had ordered the sewer valve shut. He again warned people off of the sewage and called 911 to get someone out to post signs. Mr. Looff became nauseous from the sewage smell and had to recover for almost an hour before he felt well enough to go on home in his truck. Mr. Looff showed exceptional consideration for public health on his days off. I think you can be proud of your agency's response to this situation and look forward to hearing about the results of your investigation into this matter. Thank you. Sincerely,
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