CalCoast News - Water Quality

MARSHALL, Calif. — Martin Strain reached into the greenish-blue waters of Tomales Bay and pulled up a mesh bag full of gnarled Pacific oysters, the center of a long-running dispute between dairy ranchers and shellfish growers in this coastal community.

At issue is the fact that heavy rains have forced oyster farms to shut down for weeks at a time this winter, as runoff from neighboring dairy ranches pollutes the waters where the oysters are grown.

Dairy ranchers say they've invested heavily to prevent cow waste from reaching the bay, but oyster farmers say not enough is being done to keep the water clean, and the pollution is hurting their business.

"It's an unfair situation," said Strain, the owner of the Point Reyes Oyster Co. "By not forcing these people to obey the law, they're putting us out of business."

Tomales Bay is sandwiched between Point Reyes National Seashore and the Marin County coast, about 50 miles north of San Francisco. It is the largest of four regions in California where shellfish are grown commercially and is considered one of the state's cleanest bays because it doesn't have industrial pollution.

But the bay still has its share of problems, including leaky septic systems, soil erosion, wildlife waste, mercury contamination, and agricultural runoff. In recent years, poor water quality has led to beach warnings and degraded marine habitat.

Oysters, who consume algae filtered through their shells, are seen as an indicator of the bay's health.

"They're really the canary in the coal mine," said Gregg Langlois, a marine biologist with the state Department of Health Services. "They're our first line of defense in ensuring a high level of water quality."

When rainfall is heavy, manure from the dairy ranches run into creeks that feed Tomales Bay and raise counts of fecal coliform bacteria, an accepted measure of water quality. The dangers of consuming contaminated oysters made headlines in 1998, when about 170 people got sick after eating raw oysters from the bay.

Under state law, oyster farmers aren't allowed to harvest for up to a week when it rains half an inch or more to allow time for the oysters to filter out the contaminants. Oyster farms, which have been closed as many as 100 days annually in recent years, have been shut down at least 69 days since October because of rain, Langlois said.

"It's been a tough winter," said Terry Sawyer, co-owner of Hog Island Oyster Co., one of six oyster companies that operate on the bay. "Progress is never fast enough. It's our bottom line that's affected."

Shellfish growers successfully lobbied state officials to pass the 1993 Shellfish Protection Act, which mandated the creation of committees to investigate pollution in shellfish growing areas and devise solutions. More than a decade later, Strain says state and local officials still aren't doing enough to enforce the rules.

Wil Bruhns, a senior engineer with the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, said his agency inspected all the dairies on Tomales Bay last year and only found one that wasn't in compliance. The water board plans to issue a report on the bay's pollution and a cleanup plan this summer.

"We recognize there is a problem with dairies, and we think we're dealing with it," Bruhns said. "Dairies are part of an overall problem, but they're not the only problem out there."

Dairy ranchers in western Marin County, known for its environmentally friendly farming practices, say they've restructured their farms to contain cow waste. They've built storage ponds to hold manure and fences to keep animals from walking in creeks on the 220-square mile watershed that drains into Tomales Bay. The high cost of complying with strict water-quality standards has driven many farms out of business, they say.

Dairy owner Sharon Doughty has built manure pits, pumps, holding ponds, and fences to contain runoff from 600 cows.

"It's a little discouraging because it seems the only thing that will ever satisfy (the shellfish growers) is if everybody leaves," said Doughty, whose family has owned the farm for more than 30 years. "They've forced people out and caused me a lot of sleepless nights."

In 2000, a coalition of oyster farmers, dairy ranchers, environmentalists, recreation groups, and government agencies formed the Tomales Bay Watershed Council to develop ways to clean up the bay. Last year, the council developed a long-term plan to restore the watershed's health. The council wants to improve monitoring of water quality, reduce pollution sources, protect wildlife habitats, and increase public education.

"The community is coming together," said Drew Alden, owner of the Tomales Bay Oyster Co. "People are taking steps to address the issue. They are willing to look at problems with a critical eye. Change will come slowly."