"Ecology researchers will dye the Stillaguamish red at Arlington
OLYMPIA – A Department of Ecology (Ecology) research team will place red dye into the Stillaguamish River on Tuesday evening, Aug. 14, 2012, at Haller Park in Arlington as part of a larger water quality study.
Researchers will pour the fluorescent dye at approximately 8 p.m. or later. It will dissipate quickly from view, but the team will have fluorometers in five locations along the next six downstream miles. The instruments will measure the concentration of the dye in the water over the following 12 hours.
“Research has shown the dye doesn’t affect humans, fish or wildlife health in any way at the very low concentrations we use, and we commonly use it for this type of scientific study,” said Mark Von Prause, a scientist with Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program, who will be conducting the work.
The dye test will help state researchers measure river travel times and the rate at which a pollutant dissipates in the river water.
Stillaguamish River water has a shortage of dissolved oxygen, something fish need to survive. Too much nutrient pollution, like phosphorus and nitrogen, leads to dissolved oxygen shortages.
The research will help Ecology’s Water Quality Program update a 2007 water-quality improvement plan that guides efforts to control sources of nutrient pollutants in the Stillaguamish watershed."
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