SEQUIM — State officials will be checking up on Dungeness Valley farmers in the coming weeks to make sure they are keeping livestock away from waterways.
State Department of Ecology officials will begin inspecting 61 farms in the valley as a precursor to the creation of a proposed clean water district.
Ecology officials say the inspections are part of an effort to reduce fecal coliform in the Sequim Bay watershed — including the Dungeness River and its tributaries. Fecal coliform pollution is often caused by animal waste.
According to state Water Quality Inspector Liz Rozmyn, the visits begin April 23.