HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Work Session Mar 16 2021Whatcom County
Council Water Work Session
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Minutes - Final
VIRTUAL MEETING - VIEW ONLINE
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
10:30 AM
Virtual Meeting
COUNCILMEMBERS
Rud Browne
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan
Ben Elenbaas
Carol Frazey
Kathy Kershner
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council Water Work Session Minutes - Final March 16, 2021
Call To Order
Roll Call
Council Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 10:31 a.m. in a
virtual meeting.
Present: 6 - Rud Browne, Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas and
Carol Frazey
Absent: 1 - Kathy Kershner
Water Resources Update
Gary Stoyka, Public Works Department, updated the Councilmembers on
the following and answered questions:
• Recent adjudication and settlement activities, including starting a
collaborative process to discuss comprehensive water issues and
tracking the $250,000 that the Governor put in the budget to fund
collaboration and technical work
• Regional water supply work headed by the Public Utility District
(PUD) which includes a data analysis and a draft of water supply
options for the three sub basins
• A working group (including the Department of Ecology) formed for
Drainage Based Management work in the top three pilot basins and
to identify data gaps and next steps
• Continuation of the peer review of the groundwater model with work
on schedule to be completed by late spring
• Water use efficiency work done by the Conservation District,
including setting up the domestic use efficiency program and an
agricultural water use efficiency plan
• Recent and upcoming topics to be covered at the Watershed
Management Board and WRIA1 Planning Unit meetings including
adding a hatchery strategy to the watershed management plan, the
adjudication process, discussion of our existing stream gauging
network, an overview of instream flow setting, a presentation of the
2021 salmon forecast and continual discussion of potential updates
to the 2005 Watershed Management Plan
• A 2020 progress report for Lake Whatcom to be presented at the
Joint Councils and Commission meeting scheduled for March 31,
2021
Academy Road Stormwater Treatment System Upgrade Discussion
Kraig Olason, Public Works Department, gave a presentation and answered
Whatcom County Page / Printed on 312412021
Council Water Work Session Minutes - Final March 16, 2021
when the current project was completed, the allocated funding, how much
phosphorus the system removed, how the cost of this system compares to
similar stormwater projects on the lake, how to estimate the cost of
stormwater treatment per 100 acres of development, how many acres the
facility serves, whether the filter to be put in is proven to handle the amount
of water and sediment that will go through it and whether the system's
underperformance has affected the results of the Lake Whatcom annual
review.
Items Added by Revision
Other Business
Adjournment
There were no agenda items added by revision.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 11:05 a.m.
The County Council approved these minutes on March 23, 2021.
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Dana Brawn Davis, Cbur'icil'Clerk:
Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcryption
Whatcom County Page 2 Printed on 312412021