Drill, baby, drill!

I last gave you an update on our local drinking water project at the end of last year, and I've been promising another for several months now. At last, the story can be told!

The project's origin was in 2013, when, in response to planned development of a hillside above our wells, our state engineer told us "You might want to move your wells." Ten years later, the landowners' development plans firmed up, and we teamed with a neighboring water system to apply for a state grant to study consolidation and relocation of our wells.

The same landowner offered us a small easement on another of their properties, an 80-acre forested parcel up the hill, and above any development. Even better, the Whidbey Camano Land Trust is interested in acquiring the property to protect it, and our water source, in perpetuity.

We applied for, and received, a ten-year, zero down, low interest planning and engineering loan to develop a well site and drill a test well. County and State Department of Health well site approval was needed, as well as a permit from the Department of Ecology, which, in an unheard-of move, they fast tracked for us. Drilling started last week.

Here’s a picture of the drilling rig. I went back the next day to get more pictures but was stopped by security.

I'm saving the best for last. As I described in "A Gray Tsunami," Washington State has way too many water systems, and in many cases their infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life, as are many of the board members. The State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (ODW) is aggressively promoting water system consolidation. Perhaps because we're a Unicorn, an exceedingly rare water system willing to consolidate with others, the ODW has advised us that we're eligible for grant funding for the rest of the project — treatment plant, storage, and transmission main — a $5 million value.

That's the good news that our board shared with the membership Saturday, and that I'm now sharing with you. I asked one of our contacts at the Department of Commerce what we did to deserve such exceptional treatment. She replied:

“That is a great question. Being appreciative and asking rather than assuming. Those are rare traits for many of the people they work with.”

I guess we're a unicorn in more ways than one.

This project will take a while. I've hoping to toast my 80th birthday in 2031 with a glass of water from the new facility!

Meanwhile, we celebrated by camping for a night in a local state park.

Thanks as always for reading or listening. As the Substack algorithm needs poking harder these days, please like, comment, share, restack, subscribe or all of the above!