Each year since 1972, Lake Washington Salmon have been counted as they pass through the Ballard Locks by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribal Staff. Salmon runs through the Locks were once abundant with hundreds of thousands of salmon migrating each year. Now the salmon run population is down to tens of thousands in recent years with a small fraction traveling through Lake Washington to Cedar River each fall to spawn. There are many factors affecting local salmon populations from warming waters to increasing predator populations, but this doesn’t fully account for the severely decreasing population. One more piece of the puzzle was discovered in 2021 when researchers identified a tire-derived contaminant responsible for acute toxicity to coho salmon: N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-quinone). 6PPD-quinone is classified as a very highly toxic pollutant to aquatic organisms, and many salmonid species (including coho, chinook, and steelhead salmon) are susceptible to acute toxicity from concentrations found in urban runoff. Salmon are of great ecological and cultural importance to this region, and their extinction would lead to the end of a way of life.

The University of Washington (UW) campus was built on the lands of the Duwamish, Squamish, Tulalip, Muckleshoot, and Coast Salish People. Today this land holds multiple turf fields filled with rubber derived from waste tires which drain into Union Bay, a part of Lake Washington. While these facilities provide important services, these fields pose a threat to environmental health and may be furthering the rapid decline in salmon populations. Most research has focused on the impact of tire wear particles generated on roadways; therefore, the impact of turf fields on the water quality and salmon populations is unknown. 

Due to the recent discovery of 6PPD-quinone as an acute toxicant, there are significant knowledge gaps that exist, especially in regard to the impact of turf fields on water quality. Projects on this topic have yet to be externally funded, and research projects rarely consider stakeholder priorities or feedback. This project seeks to investigate the impact of turf fields on water quality and understand mitigation options (i.e. product replacement and/or treatment) that would be accepted by project stakeholders and could be implemented on campus. This knowledge will help keep the University of Washington at the forefront of sustainability and leadership. This project has focused on CSF funding for three reasons:

1. The unique location of the turf fields near a waterway of historic salmon spawning migration.
2. The presence of retention basins under Husky Stadium that may treat the runoff before it enters Union Bay.
3. The opportunity to work with interested stakeholders to develop realistic solutions.

We are proposing a student-led, two-phase project to monitor the impact of UW turf fields on water quality and to begin developing potential solutions with interested stakeholders. This project will start with a feasibility study, and if the feasibility study is successful, a full-scale monitoring project and evaluation of potential alternatives or treatments will follow. 

Goals for Phase I (Feasibility Study):

• Collect turf infill samples from all outdoor fields on UW Seattle campus.
• Conduct bench-top maximum and environmentally relevant leaching studies on rubber turf infill to quantitatively determine potential 6PPD-quinone concentrations. 
• Work with UW facilities to identify catch basins and outflows from turf field runoff for sampling.
• Generate a comprehensive report on the location, composition, and drainage of all outdoor turf fields on UW Seattle campus.
• Develop a sampling timeline and procedure for Phase II.
• Summarize stakeholder views and propose a project direction (i.e. product replacement and/or treatment) for Phase II.
• Raise local awareness of the ecological and societal issues derived from 6PPD-quinone.

Tentative Goals for Phase II:

• Collect samples from previously identified catch basins during storm events throughout the rainy season (October-March).
• Test alternative infill options with bench-top studies to generate a list of product replacement options for facilities when considering routine replacement of surfaces or new installations.
• Evaluate potential treatment options (e.g. retention basin or sorbent media filters).
• Submit year-round stormwater monitoring results for publication.
• Conduct a perception study of how athletes, community groups, facilities, and staff perceive the different treatment or product replacement options.
• Engage with students and the broader community by speaking in classes and at symposiums accessible to the public (e.g.“The Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ: Indigenous Foods and Ecological Knowledge Symposium” at the University of Washington).

As a Doctoral student in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), I will lead this project. I will be advised by my faculty advisor Dr. Jessica Ray (UW Seattle CEE); my co-advisor Dr. Ed Kolodziej (UW Seattle CEE and UW Tacoma Sciences and Mathematics); and my thesis committee member Dr. Michael Dodd (UW Seattle CEE). Phase I of this project will include two paid UW Seattle undergraduate students to help with research and outreach. Ideally, we will partner with student-athletes who regularly participate in training on the field surfaces under investigation. 

This project plans to engage multiple stakeholders, including students throughout campus (particularly student-athletes), UW staff who manage turf facilities and purchasing, faculty with experience in environmental water chemistry research, Seattle and Pacific Northwest Communities especially indigenous communities, and researchers in Environmental Engineering. This education and outreach is important, especially for students who will go on to careers in environmental sectors and sports administration, so they can better understand the impacts of field installations and promote more sustainable and eco-friendly fields.

Phase I of this project will take place over 4 months during Spring and Summer 2024 (see timeline). For Phase I, I am requesting $20,000 to support graduate student salary/tuition and benefits, two hourly undergraduate students (6-7 hours a week for approximately two quarters), chemicals, sampling supplies, lab consumables, organic contaminant analyses, and crumb rubber procurement (see budget).