For ten years, local volunteer citizen scientists have been leaning over the sides of their kayaks, canoes, or boats to either look at a black and white secchi disk or to haul up a clear tube full of lake water. Curious passersby might wonder what they are doing or what that odd device is. The...
We can all agree that this has been an unusual year. This summer, the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper (LPOW) office received calls about multiple shoreline development violations, people using soap in the lake, swimmers itch reports, and, most notably, green water. In early August, a resident on...
Waterkeeper receives message from associate that concerned citizen called regarding potential negative health issues related to swimming. Weather is hot, water warm. Your Waterkeeper knows warm water = good for little bugs, bugs not good for people. Waterkeeper calls citizen back...
We are certainly living in an odd time. We are in the midst of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, we have people relocating to our area at what seems to be an alarming rate, and our political climate is more divisive than I can remember. All of this, believe it or not, has an effect on water...
This month, the Sandpoint City Council approved a new city code, Title 7, Chapter 16, Watershed Protection. The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, welfare and safety of Little Sand Creek. Little Sand Creek, which sits beneath Schweitzer Mountain and northwest of town, is one of...
This post has been edited since it’s publication in the Sandpoint READER on 9/7/17. It’s almost Valentine’s Day and love is in the air! More importantly, pentachlorophenol (PCP) continues to flow into Sand Creek and something needs to be done. PCP is classified as a probable human carcinogen...