PART 2: SAN JUAN COUNTY CHARACTERIZATION REPORT
CHAPTER 6: DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL PRIORITY WATERSHEDS
East Sound | Friday Harbor | Westcott/Garrison Bays | Fisherman Bay | Roche Harbor |
Mud/Hunter Bays | West Sound | Deer Harbor | False Bay
Beneficial Uses
Roche Harbor watershed was ranked fifth
in the 1988 San Juan County Watershed Ranking Report, despite
its small size. This was due to 
concerns about
impacts from potential sources of pollution, rather than beneficial
uses, such as tourist-related activities and high density levels.
There are no surface water resources in the Roche Harbor watershed.
There is a valuable coastal lagoon adjacent to Mosquito Pass
dominated by intertidal communities. There is also a small freshwater
wetland at the watershed boundary with Westcott Bay.
Roche Harbor has kelp beds and extensive eel grass habitat used by Pacific Herring. The northwestern side of White Point is noted for having habitat features important to migratory waterfowl and supporting a high diversity of plants and animals. It is also an important eagle habitat area.
There is no commercial fishing resource in Roche Harbor. Crabs are common and are harvested by residents and visitors.
Watershed Condition
The Roche Harbor watershed has one marina at Roche Harbor Resort, which recently expanded and provides 377 moorages for permanent, transient, and liveaboard moorage. Fuel service and pumpout facilities are available.
Roche Harbor Resort has an approved sewage treatment plant and a permit to discharge treated wastewater in Roche Harbor. A log rafting site is located at the south end of the harbor.
The watershed is primarily forested (45%) with some grass lands (25%). Land use is primarily residential and recreational. Compared to other watersheds, a significant portion of the Roche Harbor watershed is impervious or nearly impervious. Runoff from the impervious area is not treated before discharging to Roche Harbor.
No agricultural land of significance occurs within this watershed. The land located at the core of the resort has a development potential of one-half acre per unit or more. Much of the watershed has been designated as a Master Planned Resort under the 1998 Comprehensive Plan. The remaining land in the watershed has a development potential of one-half to 2 acre per unit. Only part of the area is served by sewer at this time.
No water quality samples were taken of surface waters in the Roche Harbor watershed. As a condition of approval for expansion of the marina in 1996, water quality sampling in the harbor was required. This sampling will be used as a baseline measurement to assure that the harbor's waters are not degraded by boating activities in the future.
| Watershed Acreage |
238 |
|||||
| Landcover Vegetation | Current Land Use* |
acres |
||||
| Grasses |
547 |
|
Agriculture |
0 |
||
| Dense Forest |
1,158 |
|
Timber Land |
0 |
||
| Sparse Forest |
227 |
|
Conservation |
0 |
||
| Scrub |
538 |
|
Residential parcels (84) |
85 |
|
|
| Wetlands | Public Lands |
0 |
||||
| Upland freshwater |
3.5 |
|||||
| Marine and intertidal |
43 |
|||||
| Lakes |
na |
Designated Growth Areas |
|
|||
| Lakes/Freshwater Wetlands |
|
Upland Native Ecosystem |
|
|||
| Streams |
na |
Critical Marine Habitat |
|
|||
| Drainage runoff |
na |
Surface Water Resource Area |
|
|||
| Research/Education Areas |
|
|||||
| *Current land use information is from the County Assessor's records. | ||||||
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