Commissioner's
Corner
Donald L.P. Miller
 Having
had some exposure to the natural sciences during our educational lives,
most of us are somewhat familiar with the concept of the "water
cycle". As we know from our studies, whether water is being collected
in the atmosphere, distributed in the natural environment or gathered in
the transmission systems which transport it to the oceans, where the
process starts over, water is constantly in a state of motion.
Differences in the way the water cycle functions in any given area play
a large role in the availability of water and how it is applied to the
traditional consumptive and non-consumptive uses. Water which returns
quickly to the oceans has only a limited availability for meeting use
demands. In mountainous areas, the delay of this return, caused by the
accumulation of water into a snow pack, enhances the "window of
opportunity" for its use. When the weather doesn't cooperate, as it
hasn't in this area during the last winter cycle, this natural form of
storage is less effective and water supply in the adjacent lowland areas
can be adversely impacted.
We are blessed in the District with a less weather-dependent way of
"slowing down" the water cycle than those areas reliant on
surface water flows. Our aquifers retain a tremendous amount of
high-quality water that is gathered and held over longer intervals than
surface water supplies. With the availability of our ground water and the
utilization of best management practices to govern its distribution, which
includes chlorination necessary to meet regulatory requirements, we are
confident that our supply of water will be fully adequate to meet demand
if we experience a warm, dry summer and fall this year.
We believe that before too long we will be able to reclaim treated
wastewater effluent from our treatment plants for uses that will help
offset some of the demand for drinking water. This is another wrinkle to
the way the water cycle can be managed to maximize available water supply.
We are also aware of the need to be good neighbors in the water
business and have spent a considerable amount of time lately discussing
how we might help out other areas with less ability to meet peak summer
demand this year. Regional water planning is the only way the Puget Sound
area and beyond will meet the challenges of saving salmon and providing
for growth in the future. We are pleased to be able to do our part!
Let me know if you have any comments or if we can answer any questions
for you.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
At the time of this update, the extended 2001 legislative session was
drawing to a close. As is typical of most years, legislators are devoting
the final days of the session to the task of adopting a state budget.
The District's engineering consultant selection bill, which would have
confirmed the authority of agencies to select engineering consulting firms
on an every-other-year basis, passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by
Governor Locke. Other bills advanced by the District received interest,
but unfortunately were not passed into law. Despite the difficulties
encountered this year in passing new legislation, many thanks go out to
State Representatives Miloscia and Mitchell, and Senator Eide, for their
valuable assistance with our legislative program. We look forward to
working with each of them next year.
Planning for the 2002 legislative session will begin in July. We hope
to work cooperatively with the City of Federal Way in the development of
our legislative program this year.
We will update you as the legislative year progresses!
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WELL 22B PROJECT
The District will be drilling a replacement well for two existing wells
located near the King/Pierce County line at about 36 th
Avenue South and South 384th
Street. The two existing wells are about 20 years old and penetrate the
Eastern Uplands Aquifer system about 250 feet below the ground. Problems
with sand breaking through the screen on one of the wells has prevented us
from fully utilizing the water from these wells and raised concerns that
we may soon lose production altogether if the formation around the well
screen is further degraded. Drilling of a replacement well is planned for
July of this year. We are also looking into a water filtration system that
will reduce the levels of iron and manganese minerals present in these
wells to improve the overall water quality in the area. The replacement
well will allow us to produce over 100 million gallons of water each year
from this site.
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Water Treatment Update
In June 2001, Lakehaven Utility District began treating our drinking
water supply to control internal corrosion of metal plumbing commonly
found in residential and commercial structures and began disinfecting the
water with chlorine as an additional part of that treatment process. Water
Treatment is required because of a federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulation
called the "Lead and Copper Rule." To protect our customers
against spills, leaks, or vandalism of our treatment operations, the
District has incorporated the following safety measurers:
Security
All chemical feed equipment has been
installed at existing well facilities with access restricted to authorized
Lakehaven personnel, approved visitors, and contractors. Each well
facility is fully fenced with building doors and entrance gates locked.
The well facilities are equipped with intrusion alarms that are triggered
when unauthorized entry is made and these alarms are monitored 24 hours a
day at the District's Telemetry Control Headquarters
facility.
Gas Detection System
Chlorine cylinders are kept at existing well
facilities within special self
contained gas cabinets and storage units and each well facility is
equipped with a Chlorine Gas "Leak" Detection System. The gas
detection system control unit also contains alarms triggered by power and
sensor failure. All alarm conditions are monitored 24 hours a day at the
District's Telemetry Control Headquarters facility.
Accidental Release Measures
Lakehaven has prepared a Spill/Incident Response Plan to address roles,
emergency response, cleanup procedures, and coordination of efforts in the
event of a hazardous materials spill or incident in the vicinity of a
Lakehaven wellhead.
The Federal Way Fire Department (Fire Department) has primary
responsibility for spills or incidents involving hazardous materials at
the District's well sites and flow control facilities. Lakehaven is
responsible for keeping the Fire Department informed regarding chemicals
stored and used at each of the treatment facilities and providing cleanup
assistance when possible.
The Fire Department has a Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) team capable of
responding to spill incidents. The HAZMAT team is composed of three units
that are normally located at Fire Station Four, which is east of
Interstate-5 and South 320 th
Street. The HAZMAT team has two or more personnel on duty during all
shifts.
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Poster Winners
 The
District, in partnership with the Federal Way Elementary Schools and the
local business community, sponsored our 4th
annual poster drawing contest to develop a 2001 Water Conservation
Calendar. The winning posters will be the featured art on the calendars.
Calendars will be available through the participating schools as a fund
raising project for those schools this fall.
Business Contributors were Applebee's Restaurant, Barnes & Noble,
Baskin Robbins, Big Five Sporting Goods, Blimpee's Subs & Salads,
Costco Wholesale, Kits/Ritz Camera, Paint Yourself Silly, SeaTac Mall and
Torero's Restaurant.
Congratulations to the following poster winners: Amber Quinn, Ashley
Knutson, Cheri Eshete, Corey Roles, Jacklyn Hall, Joanna Park, John
Rhodes, Louisa Rodriguez, Marie Grey, Melyssa Ackermann, Nina Ngo, Nubia
Vasquez and Patty Ayala.
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Water
Conservation Activities
The District will participate in the 26 TH
Annual Safety Show at SeaTac Mall, Saturday, October 6th
2001, from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. For
more information call Melinda at 253-946-5426.
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The
District has implemented a watering schedule calendar for the summer
months to conserve our water supply.
This calendar is on a voluntary basis.
Please use the color associated with the last two digits of your
house number and water only on the days with your color, not to exceed
1” weekly. For best
absorption, water between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.
July
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Your Board of
Commissioners
Donald L. P. Miller - President
Tom Jovanovich - Vice President
Dick Mayer - Secretary
Beverly J. Tweddle - Commissioner
Ed Stewart - Commissioner
Regular Board of Commissioners meetings are held at the
Lakehaven Center at 31531 First Ave. S., Federal Way at 6 p.m. |
