Stormwater runoff flowing into restored Seattle-area creeks and rivers appears to be killing salmon, according to a groundbreaking study by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Eighty-eight percent of coho salmon studied last fall died within hours of swimming into a stream that was being inundated by runoff. Rainwater pours off streets, roofs, and parking lots into the waterways, carrying with it oil, grease, pesticides, and loads of other pollutants. The study suggests that federal efforts to protect salmon and return higher numbers of them to rivers and creeks in the Puget Sound region will face even more challenges than initially anticipated.
