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May - June 2009 Commissioner's
Corner
Edward Stewart
 As you will read on the front page of
this Newsletter, Commissioner Beverly Tweddle retired from the Board of
Commissioners in April. Her long battle with health problems has, to our
collective misfortune, made it too difficult for her to continue her work on
the Board.
The occasion of her retirement is an
opportunity to reflect on my good fortune to have worked with Bev on the
Board for the past ten years. She is a source of great vitality and her
enthusiasm for the work of the District benefitted the Board and the
ratepayers greatly. With her background in government and her broad
experience in utility management, Bev was able to pass on to me much about
the business of the water and sewer utility we have been so privileged to
serve.
Bev began her career in public service
working for a small town outside of Spokane. As the administrator of a small
municipality, she was called on to perform nearly every job imaginable.
Moving her family across the mountains, she came to the City of Milton in
the 1970’s to work in city administration. After a successful career at
Milton, she was asked to join the Pierce County Wastewater Utility. At
Pierce County, she worked tirelessly on the Chambers Creek Wastewater
Treatment Plant Expansion Project. While helping to bring that important
project to completion, she had the good fortune to work closely with Pierce
County Executive Booth Gardner. When Booth became Governor, he brought Bev
with him to Olympia to serve as his chief assistant in the Governor’s
Office.
Bev was elected to the Lakehaven Board
in 1987. Following her election to this Board, Bev was selected for a
position on the Metro Council. She served on the Metro Council with
distinction until leaving to take a position at Metro in human resources.
With her experience managing people in public service, she was able to make
a successful transition to human resources and used the knowledge gained in
the position to assist the District’s Board and staff alike in personnel
matters.
I know from talking to Bev that her
service on the Board at Lakehaven has been one of the most rewarding
experiences of her life. She has been an unwavering advocate for the
ratepayer from the very beginning. As Bev would note many times, she was a
citizen activist long before she became an elected official. Her interest in
the welfare of the ratepayer inspired her to create the Customer Assistance
Program to help customers with financial difficulties meet the cost of water
and sewer service. She is also an avid gardener and was instrumental in the
establishment of our Water Conservation Garden and Water Conservation Poster
Contest.
I have been honored and privileged to
serve with Beverly Tweddle. As a customer of the District, it is no less a
privilege that you have had her voice on the Board of Commissioners.
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WELL 34M (OASIS
PROJECT)
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During the early
1990’s, the District began researching the development of a
water resource program called the OASIS Project, which is an
acronym for Optimization of Aquifer Storage for Increased
Supply. The OASIS Project identified the Mirror Lake Aquifer*
(MLA) as a large, potential “underground storage reservoir”,
capable of artificially recharging and storing 29,000 acre-feet
of water (approximately 9.5 billion gallons).
In September 2006,
the OASIS Project was officially approved and authorized by the
Washington State Department of Ecology through a reservoir
permit. This project includes the construction of a number of
special aquifer storage recovery (ASR) wells that will be used
to recharge the aquifer every winter and, alternatively, to
supply water for municipal uses during the summer. In addition,
a number of special monitor wells will also be constructed to
measure and record operational groundwater fluctuations.
In 2006, a test well
for a different project was drilled and later converted into an
OASIS monitor well (Well 34M). To help reduce construction costs
of the OASIS Project, the conversion process of the test well
included developing Well 34M into a special “nested piezometer
well”. The well now consists of three small diameter wells
separately cased and screened at various depths within the
larger original well borehole. These “nested piezometers” within
Well 34M will be used to provide valuable future data on
vertical infiltration, leakage rates, and groundwater
fluctuations in the Redondo-Milton Channel (RMC) Aquifer, Mirror
Lake Aquifer (MLA), and the confining geological clay layer
between the two aquifers during the course of artificial
recharge, storage, and recovery of groundwater for the OASIS
Project.
* An “aquifer” is an
underground layer of permeable rock, sand, or gravel through
which groundwater flows, containing enough water to supply wells
and springs. |
District Engineer at Well 34M
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WATER CONSERVATION GARDENING
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Lakehaven Utility District
encourages water conservation gardening. Following are some tips
for Xeriscape gardening:
For Lawns:
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Water no more than one
inch a week.
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Water before 10:00
a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
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Aerate the soil in the
spring and fall.
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Mow regularly, leave
grass clippings on lawn.
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Remove thatch build-up
of over ½ inch.
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GARDEN AT SENIOR CENTER
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Lakehaven Utility District
donated the drip irrigation system for the new community garden
at the Federal Way Senior Center. This all-volunteer project is
supported by local businesses and will provide fresh organic
produce for those (especially seniors) who cannot afford to
purchase it. The garden is comprised of 58 raised beds with
areas designed for gardeners using wheelchairs and walkers.
There is also a garden area for children’s groups. The community
garden opened at the Senior Center, located at 4016 S. 352nd
Street, Auburn, WA, on May 1, 2009 . For information on how to
become involved, call Mike Stanley at 253-279-6443. |
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KIDS CORNER
Wildwood Elementary Students attend the Water Festival at Green River
C.C.
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WATER FESTIVAL
Lakehaven Utility District
sponsored 273 Federal Way School fourth and fifth grade students at the
annual Water Festival held this year at Green River Community College.
Classes emphasized the importance of clean water as well as water
conservation.
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WATER
CONSERVATION EVENT
The District will sponsor a
booth at the City of Federal Way’s annual Red, White, and Blues event on
the 4th of July at Celebration Park.
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Your Board of
Commissioners
Chuck Gibson -
President
Ed Stewart
- Vice President
Don Miller -
Commissioner
Ron Nowicki - Commissioner
Vacant Position - Commissioner
Regular Board of Commissioners meetings are held
the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
These meetings are held at the Lakehaven Center at:
Lakehaven Center
31531 First Ave. S.
Federal Way at 6 p.m. |
