Lakehaven Utility District

It has been my honor to serve you for over 25 years as your Commissioner. When I was first elected to the Board, Bill Martin, the District’s Water Manager, proudly described the water system to me. It was a great system then and we believe it is still the best water/sewer district in the state. Bill retired in 1985 and is now facing some health challenges. We wish him well and deeply appreciate his past service to our District.

Your current Commissioners come from diverse backgrounds and all use their talents and energy to develop policy as well as operate the District within budget constraints. For example, I have an MBA degree, am a Financial Planner, and also was a member of the Army National Guard with an emphasis in Logistical Support and Emergency Planning. Other members of the Board have degrees in Engineering, Biology, and Computer Science. We coordinate our efforts with an excellent staff and appreciate their efforts to help you, our customers.

The hot, dry summer this year provided needed income for the District. We were able to serve our customers with over 16 million gallons of water per day (MGD) for June, July, and August, by using many new technologies to maintain top quality water. The District also has an excellent wastewater system at two treatment plants; one at Lakota Beach and the other at Redondo Beach. Our wastewater plants continue to receive NPDES Awards from the State Department of Ecology.

When all is said and done, we continue to strive for the “First Class Operation” guidelines that Bill Martin gave to me many years ago.

I sincerely enjoy working for you in our Special Purpose District and welcome your inquiries and questions.

Best regards and please feel free to contact me at anytime at telephone number 253-941-1516.

Many household products that are advertised as being “disposable” or even “flushable” are causing problems in the sewer systems. These items include:

Once flushed, these products don’t dissolve, but instead clog sewer pipes and pumps leading to expensive and time consuming repairs. In a worse case scenario, these clogs can lead to sewage overflows into homes.

Lakehaven recommends only flushing bodily waste and toilet paper; everything else should be disposed of properly through recycling, composting, and garbage.

Fats, oils and grease (often referred to as FOG) continue to be universal problem substances in wastewater. FOG does not readily dissolve, floats on water, and clings to surface areas, eventually ending up in the sewer system.

FOG is the number one cause of sewer back-ups in homes and restaurants. All restaurants and food processing establishments should have a FOG management program or procedures which include specific guidelines to prevent the introduction of waste or product FOG into the sewer system. This may include the need to install and properly operate an oil/water separator, or other pretreatment device.

For residences, it is always best to put FOG in the garbage instead of the drain. Do not dispose of FOG down any drain as it is highly likely that the FOG will solidify in the plumbing piping before reaching the sewer system. In-sink garbage disposals should only be used for food waste and liquids from food (see http://www.lakehaven.org/savewater.htm).

Residents may dispose of FOG in their garbage can by mixing liquid FOG with an absorbent material, such as cat litter or sawdust, so it doesn’t leak. If you have questions, call Lakehaven’s Pretreatment Coordinator, Brian Asbury, at telephone no. 253-946-5407 or email BAsbury@Lakehaven.org.

Well 17B, located at 320th/9th SW, with 26 filters which remove iron and manganese from the water.

Lakehaven Utility District has developed the capability of producing water from three deep aquifer wells drilled to a depth of over 900 feet below the ground surface (Wells 17B, 19, and 33). A Water Right Permit for these three wells was granted by the Department of Ecology a number of years ago; however, in order to complete the permitting process, the District will actually need to put the deep aquifer water to beneficial use before a certificated water right is issued by the state. The amount of water that can ultimately be utilized annually under the water right certificate depends on how much water the District can put to beneficial use over a twelve-month period from these sources. This twelve-month process of perfecting the water right began in July and staff will be working diligently to keep these sources on-line 24-hours a day over the next year to maximize the water right. The supply from these sources will provide about 40% of the average daily water demand for our system.

In addition to perfecting the water right for our deep aquifer wells, Lakehaven is also in the process of perfecting a water right transfer from a small old well to a new well (Well 29) in our Eastern Upland Aquifer system. Producing water from Well 29 over the next twelve months is expected to provide an additional 3% of the average daily demand.

Perfecting these water rights will help ensure that the District has access to reliable sources of water well into the future.

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PAYMENT OPTIONS

The District’s main office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Payments may be made 24 hours a day online at www.lakehaven.org or over the phone at 1-877-307-1635.

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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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Chuck Gibson - President
Ed Stewart - Vice President
Don Miller - Secretary
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: