Olympia Sea Level Rise Open House

Above:  Due to its location on Budd Inlet, downtown Olympia will flood more often as sea levels rise. Draft sea level rise adaptation strategies will be on display at an upcoming open house. City staff will be in attendance to answer questions.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Olympia city staff will host an open house and community meeting about sea level rise response planning for downtown Olympia.

The event will be September 19, 2018, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., LOTT Clean Water Alliance, 500 Adams St NE, Olympia.

The City of Olympia, Port of Olympia, and LOTT Clean Water Alliance are working together to develop a sea level rise response plan to help protect downtown assets, services, and critical infrastructure.

The meeting will include presentations on the planning effort and potential adaptation strategies. It will also offer an opportunity for public feedback on draft adaptation strategies.

The city is planning for sea level rise of 24 inches, or two feet, by mid-century and 68 inches, or 5.7 feet, by the end of the century.

A variety of potential adaptation strategies have been identified, including permanent flood protection such as elevated paths, new sea walls, and higher existing sea walls.

Temporary flood protection includes sandbagging, sealed street grates, and flood gates. 

Other options include living with water, creating living shorelines, elevated structures, and allowing landscapes to flood.

Key areas of concern include the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, the isthmus and Percival Landing, Capitol Lake and the Port of Olympia marine terminal area.

Throughout the month of September, the city is featuring informational displays on Percival Landing about sea level rise in downtown Olympia.  

Above: Eric Christensen, City of Olympia Public Works, indicates the area where the city will protect downtown from sea level rise using a combination of strategies such as flood gates and raised walls and planter boxes.

Elected Officials Meeting

To discuss sea level rise response planning, a joint meeting of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance Board of Directors, Port of Olympia Commission, and Olympia City Council will be held September 17, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., LOTT Clean Water Alliance.

Community members are welcome to attend and observe. Public comment at this meeting will be limited to written form.

For more information about City of Olympia sea level rise planning and previous community meetings, downtown flooding issues, high tides, combined sewer and storm water systems, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

For more information from the City of Olympia about sea level rise response planning, go to olympiawa.gov/sealevelrise or email searise@ci.olympia.wa.us

Olympia’s Sea Level Rise Plan Begins with Port, LOTT

Above: At the southernmost tip of Puget Sound, Budd Inlet surrounds downtown Olympia. In the distance is the Washington State Capitol Building. At far right, the vacant nine story Capitol Center Building. Photo taken at high tide on March 10, 2016.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Collaborating for the first time on a sea level rise response plan, the City of Olympia authorized its city manager to sign an interlocal agreement with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance at its regular Tuesday evening meeting.

The three entities will work together to focus on the development of a sea level rise plan and provide recommendations for capital projects, funding needs, implementation schedules, and emergency response protocols.

An engineering firm, AECOM, has been chosen to develop the project’s scope of work. AECOM has assisted other communities in sea level rise response planning, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area.

City staff will report back to council in mid to late May with a detailed scope of work and public outreach plan. Overall, the process is expected to take 18 months to develop.

How the collaboration and conversation will unfold at the Port of Olympia and LOTT Clean Water Alliance is uncertain.

Rachael Jamison, environmental program director for the Port of Olympia, was present at the meeting, but did not address the council. 

Jamison told Little Hollywood that the Port has tracked the city’s research and work on sea level rise issues and port commissioners have received sea level rise reports in the past.

“Independent of commission meetings, the Port is going to provide opportunities for the public to participate in a way which will be clear once we have a plan. We recognize that there are vulnerabilities and we have to work together,” she said.

No representatives of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were present at the meeting Tuesday night.

The City of Olympia has acknowledged and responded to sea level rise concerns since 1990.

Since 2007, staff has provided city council and the community with annual updates on current climate change and sea level rise research.

Illustrating their information with Olympia specific inundation maps, city staff gave council the most sobering sea level rise report to date at a study session in February 2016.

According to the National Research Council, four and a half feet of sea level rise is expected worldwide by 2100.

Andy Haub, City of Olympia’s director of water resources, gave a sea level rise report to the community on February 8, 2017 at the Olympia Center.

As he has reported in the past, a one foot sea level rise means flooding would occur 30 times a year in downtown Olympia.

Two feet of sea level rise would flood downtown 160 times a year, and four feet of sea level rise would flood downtown 440 times a year, which is more than once a day.

The city set a policy in 2010 to protect downtown and that is reflected in the goals and policies of its Comprehensive Plan.

Above: Susan Clark, City of Olympia senior city planner, will act as project manager for the city’s sea level rise plan. She has a long professional history with planning and water related issues.

Susan Clark, a senior city planner with the City of Olympia since early January, is taking the lead as the city's sea level rise project manager for day to day issues. 

Andy Haub and Eric Christensen, City of Olympia's water resources planning and engineering manager, will continue to be involved and play a major role.

Interviewed by Little Hollywood on Tuesday, Clark discussed her background and her new job. A graduate of Timberline High School in Lacey, Clark now lives in Tacoma.

Clark is responsible for planning activities related to Olympia’s drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater utilities, and is working on the completion of the city’s storm and surface water utility plan.

Sea level rise is a new, additional responsibility to the position.

Clark started her professional career in 1990, helping to develop Pierce County’s Growth Management Act Comprehensive Plan. She later transferred to the Public Works Department, where she was responsible for drinking water issues, including participation in watershed planning.

After spending 15 years with Pierce County, Clark worked with Tacoma Water as their water resources planner. She also processed water rights at the state Department of Ecology and worked at the state Department of Health as a regional planner with the drinking water program.

Multiple downtown Olympia development projects by the city and the port are underway in precisely the area destined to be first impacted by sea level rise.

These vulnerable areas, built on fill, are well within the historic shoreline of Budd Inlet.

Asked about her interest in sea level rise issues, she said she has visited Annapolis, Maryland, and has studied their issues.

“They have an old downtown, right on Chesapeake Bay. Other communities have aspects of their plans that we can learn from….As a professional planner, I am very interested in the opportunity, and feel honored, to assist a community with this relatively new area of planning. Throughout my 25 plus year career, I have learned that a planner is a generalist, bringing organizational skills and a different way of thinking to the table,” said Clark.

Little Hollywood regularly writes about downtown Olympia sea level rise issues, shoreline management, and related development. For more information about the city’s reports, including the February 8, 2017 report and the February 2016 report, past high tide events, photos, and community concerns, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search button.

To stay up to date with the city’s sea level rise plans, go to www.olympiawa.gov/SeaLevelRise, or contact Susan Clark, senior city planner at sclark@ci.olympia.wa.us or (360) 753-8321.

LOTT: Water Revolution Will Now Be Televised

Above: LOTT Clean Water Alliance board meetings will be televised starting next month, and the LOTT board members and Karla Fowler, LOTT Community and Environmental Policy Director, are ready for their big screen debut. LOTT and Thurston Community Television (TCTV) held a practice run with camera angles and technical fine tuning at Wednesday night’s LOTT Clean Water Alliance meeting.

Fowler, who joined the LOTT staff in 1996, is scheduled to retire from her position in July 2016. The community relations department is currently being reorganized as selection processes are underway for a public communications manager and an environmental project manager. New websites for LOTT and the WET Center will also be unveiled in 2016.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Lights! Camera! Action! At long last, the local water revolution will be televised starting next month when LOTT Clean Water Alliance board meetings and activities will be televised.  

Not only will there be plenty of technical bathroom talk about biosolids, reclaimed water, and total maximum daily loads, community members will also learn how the LOTT board of directors spends millions of dollars per year to maintain the region’s massive wastewater system.

Installation of the necessary equipment began in October, and four cameras will provide video and audio recording capabilities in the LOTT board room, training room, and classroom to serve a broad range of public events. 

The video equipment installation cost $168,375. The two year contract not to exceed $60,000 allows for Thurston Community Television (TCTV) coverage of LOTT board meetings and other events held by LOTT.

Meetings will not be televised live, but are expected be available the next day through the LOTT website. Work sessions are not currently scheduled to be televised, but TCTV executive director Deb Vinsel said the recording of work sessions would easily fit into the budget contract already created between LOTT and TCTV.

Meetings will also be broadcast on TCTV on a schedule that has not yet been determined on local Comcast channels 3 and 26.

Meetings and events other than LOTT’s could also be documented, and those entities would contract separately with TCTV for services, said Vinsel.

Vinsel said the LOTT meetings will be the first governmental entity broadcast in high definition in the county. The City of Olympia council meetings are expected to experience the next technical upgrade, scheduled for about June, 2016.

The work session and board meeting on Wednesday was taped as a practice run while LOTT board members discussed protocols as TCTV staff worked out the bugs regarding lighting, camera angles and microphone positions. 

Vinsel asked the LOTT board to ask its legal department for clarification and definition of “official record,” as Vinsel said the public sometimes contacts TCTV for meeting videos. 

Vinsel explained that TCTV simply documents meetings and is not a news agency. There is no ‘editorializing’ with the cameras, meaning they do not change camera angles to catch the reactions of individual speakers, for example, nor do they edit video.

The next LOTT Clean Water Alliance Board meeting, which will be video recorded and televised, is January 13, 2016.

LOTT Has A Lot of Business To Cover

The LOTT Clean Water Alliance operates a complex system of facilities worth an estimated $750 million and televised meetings will help increase the transparency and public oversight of staff activities and LOTT board decisions. 

The LOTT Board of Directors consists of four elected officials, one from each of the partner jurisdictions – cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, and Thurston County. These positions are currently held by Cynthia Pratt, City of Lacey, Steve Langer, City of Olympia, Tom Oliva, City of Tumwater, and Sandra Romero, Thurston County.

The Wednesday night meeting was Langer’s last meeting, as he is leaving the Olympia City Council at the end of his term this month. City of Olympia councilmember Julie Hankins, his designated alternate, may take his place, and was present in the audience Wednesday night.

LOTT staff members are organized under four division directors who report to the current executive director, Mike Strub.

Wastewater treatment is an expensive business and infrastructure costs are huge. With 76 full-time positions, LOTT treats an average of 13 million gallons of wastewater each day.

LOTT’s assets include the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, Budd Inlet Reclaimed Water Plant, Martin Way Reclaimed Water Plant, Hawks Prairie Reclaimed Water Ponds and Recharge Basins, and three major pump stations. 

LOTT serves over 52,000 acres within the Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater urban growth area. LOTT also owns and maintains 28.3 miles of sewer interceptor pipelines, and 10.7 miles of reclaimed water pipelines. The three cities own and maintain 53 miles of sewer collection system pipelines, which convey wastewater to LOTT's interceptors.

LOTT Budget

Very few members of the public attend LOTT meetings, even when it comes to the review of a multi-million dollar budget. Currently, the public can physically attend a meeting, listen to audiotapes of meetings on the website, and read meeting minutes to keep up with regional wastewater system projects.

In October, the board conducted a public hearing on the proposed 2016 Operating Budget, 2016 Capital Budget, and 2016-2050 Capital Improvements Plan. Board President, Olympia city councilmember Steve Langer, opened the public hearing at 6:41 p.m. and closed the public hearing at 6:42 p.m. because there was no public testimony.

And so, the LOTT Clean Water Alliance board of directors approved the 2016 combined Operating and Capital Budget in the amount of $39,941,715, an increase of about four percent over the current 2015 budget. 

The Operating Budget contains all the costs necessary to operate LOTT’s wastewater and reclaimed water facilities and administrative functions. The 2016 budget includes $11.8 million for operations and $8.9 million for debt payments.

The 2016 Capital Budget was approved in the amount of $19,190,920. The Capital Budget includes costs necessary to construct new facilities and upgrade, replace, and rehabilitate existing facilities.

 

The board also approved the 2016 - 2050 Capital Improvements Plan which identifies $89 million in projects anticipated through 2021. The 2016 Capital Budget is about 22 percent of that total, at $19.2 million.

 

In case of emergencies, LOTT maintains approximately $10.8 million in reserves in the bank. 

Reclaimed Water

LOTT has many ongoing projects of concern to the public, including a large-scale upgrade project for the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant and several projects related to reclaimed water.

A five year Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study, now in its third year, is examining the potential risks of infiltrating reclaimed water into groundwater. Reclaimed water contains residual chemicals from medicines, personal care products, household cleaners, fertilizers, and more.

The study’s activities for 2016 include extensive field data collection and analysis. LOTT has hired a firm to do water quality sampling at the Budd Inlet and Martin Way Reclaimed Water Plants, groundwater sampling in the Hawks Prairie and Henderson Boulevard areas, a tracer study involving sampling work in and near the Hawks Prairie infiltration site, surface water sampling in select water bodies, and analysis of potential risks to public and environmental health. 

A citizen advisory group to the study was next going to meet in early December, but that was postponed.

“We do not have a date yet for the next meeting. We will be sending out a project update soon to the study list serve, but may not call the advisory group together for a meeting until early spring, when we have more data to share,” said Lisa Dennis-Perez, LOTT public communications manager, earlier this week.

Reclaimed water has been in use throughout the region for 10 years and is currently being used by the State of Washington at Heritage Park and Marathon Park, the Port of Olympia, City of Olympia at Percival Landing Park, Hands On Children’s Museum, East Bay Public Plaza, and the City of Tumwater at the Tumwater Municipal Golf Course.

Potential new uses over the next five years include irrigation of the Capitol Campus, which could utilize up to 250,000 gallons of reclaimed water a day.

In Lacey, the Woodland Creek infiltration facility is now in operation and LOTT is now developing a Deschutes Valley reclaimed water system master plan on 45 acres on the former brewery property in Tumwater. This project is anticipated to begin in 2029 at a cost of about $50,600,000.

The Washington State Department of Ecology, in conjunction with the Department of Health, has been working on the development of a Reclaimed Water Rule since 2006 and LOTT has been a participant from the beginning.

Since both of LOTT’s reclaimed water permits are due for renewal in 2016, LOTT is likely to be among the first utilities affected by the new rule, which is expected to be adopted by the end of the year.

Growth and the Bottom Line: Your Utility Bill

If you are a homeowner or renter in Lacey, Olympia, or Tumwater, the wastewater service charge on your utility bill is broken down into the city’s wastewater fee and LOTT treatment. This charge funds the operating budget and the portions of the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) that involve system repairs and needed upgrades.

The 2016 budget includes an increase of $1.08 in LOTT's monthly service rate from $36.06 a month in 2015 to $37.14 per month in 2016. This is a three percent increase to cover inflation.

The fee for connecting new customers to the sewer system has also increased from the current rate of $5,136.38 to $5,354.57, to cover inflation and support large-scale capital projects.

This fee, called a capacity development charge is paid when users hook up to the sewer system, and it is the primary funding source for projects that increase system capacity for new growth.

LOTT Looks Forward

Special meetings are occasionally held to share and discuss significant program and capital facility changes and challenges that are likely to face LOTT and its four partner jurisdictions.

After Wednesday's board meeting, Kelsey Browne, LOTT community relations program assistant, said she hopes the public is able to take advantage of learning more about LOTT, and lamented that the Septic Summit 2 meeting held in April was not televised.  

According to the forum minutes, seventeen elected officials were present. The first Septic Summit was held in 2011.

“We had three city councils, county commissioners, agency public information officers, and citizens here for a forum to discuss urban density septic systems. It was a full house. It just illustrated to us how we were held back by not having it televised,” said Browne.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on the evening of December 13. Significant corrections were made to budget numbers and LOTT assets on December 14 after an article review by LOTT staff. Little Hollywood apparently used 2015 budget figures instead of 2016 numbers and regrets the errors.  

For more information about LOTT, or to get on their Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study email list, go to the LOTT Clean Water Alliance website at www.lottcleanwater.org. LOTT is located at 500 Adams Street NE, Olympia.

For more information about LOTT, the Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study (formerly called the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study), compounds of emerging concern, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search engine button.

Above: LOTT board meetings and the water revolution of South Puget Sound will be televised starting in 2016, thanks to the technological skills of staff at Thurston Community Television (TCTV).

It's The Groundwater: LOTT Advisory Group Still Has A Lot of Questions

Above: All the water that will ever be is right now.

 

It’s the Groundwater: LOTT Advisory Group Still Has A Lot of Questions

 

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Reclaimed, recycled, infiltrated.  What do these words mean to you?

In the context of water, those three little words are synonymous. Pose the question to three different people using each one of those words, and chances are you may get three different answers, or, perhaps, puzzled looks altogether. 

After several months and five meetings, the 16 member community advisory group to the LOTT Clean Water Alliance's Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study has wrapped up Phase I of its work.

The group, and the LOTT Alliance, the water utility organization comprised of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County, will be helping the community understand what these words mean in the months to come. 

Reclaimed water is a form of wastewater management - it's wastewater that has been treated and can be used for a different purpose, such as irrigation. It's a somewhat new concept in the Pacific Northwest, although it has been used for years for a variety of purposes, even for drinking, in California, the Southwest, and other locations in the country. 

The South Sound community is already producing and using reclaimed water. The LOTT Alliance produces Class A reclaimed water using a sand filter technology - up to 1.5 million gallons per day - at its plant in downtown Olympia, and uses it for irrigation. Up to another two million gallons per day is produced at the LOTT plant in Lacey on Martin Way. The reclaimed water produced there uses a membrane bioreactor technology and is currently pumped to the Hawks Prairie reclaimed water ponds and recharge basins where it is infiltrated to replenish groundwater.  Reclaimed water is also being used to enhance wetlands and restore stream flows.

Although the Class A reclaimed water that LOTT produces is continually monitored and tested, there are lingering and emerging questions about our area's unique geography, soil structures, and what is currently in our water system, such as compounds of emerging concern, i.e. pharmaceuticals and personal care products. These are all topics being explored by the LOTT Alliance and the groundwater study advisory group when it comes to the continued and future use of this reclaimed water.

The subject of reclaimed water, and its use for potentially recharging our groundwater aquifers is emotional and fraught with conflicting concerns. It's about community values and its unknown risk on human and environmental health. It's also about money - the cost of processing and treating it to the highest level using the best technology to date, issues around land use and growth, and competing priorities for the use of a precious and scarce natural resource - water.

The Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study

The groundwater advisory group community members applied for their positions and were selected by the LOTT Alliance board of directors late last year. Most group members have demonstrated a steep learning curve. Some have a background or some experience in water issues, public service, and related administrative nuances, such as serving on a board of some kind. Most, if not all, members have exhibited a healthy curiosity and some have asked questions that indicate an ongoing dose of skepticism in LOTT, the process, and the advisory group’s actual role. Some are quite satisfied with the direction of the study, and the information provided thus far. Others, not so much.

Members have received a great deal of information, mostly from LOTT’s perspective, on the latest science regarding basic water/wastewater principals, definitions and explanations of technical jargon, and information regarding the unique challenges facing the South Sound community and its varied water systems.  Public comment has been allowed at each meeting, and members have discussed and reviewed their concerns during meetings. Each meeting has lasted three hours.

The group and LOTT staff has been aided by two consulting firms, Katz & Associates, and HDR Engineering, Inc., to facilitate meetings and help develop materials, presentations, lectures, surveys and public involvement plans.

It is incumbent upon group members to do a lot of their own homework if they want to distill the information provided to them and rise up to ask questions that may counter what it is they are being told.

And they have had a lot of questions: Why is this study being conducted? Why are we here? What are compounds of emerging concern (CECs) and are they currently in our groundwater and/or drinking water? What happens to recharged/recycled/infiltrated water? Where does it go? Is it safe to use this reclaimed water for groundwater recharge? What are the standards now in state and federal law for monitoring CECs? What are the soil types in Thurston County? What do groundwater studies in California have to do with us?

The advisory committee members have experienced what amounts to a college-level crash course in local water reuse issues. It has included science and case-study lectures, Power Point presentations, tours of the LOTT facilities, the creation of public opinion research surveys in the form of interviews with over 50 selected community members and a telephone survey of 400 randomly chosen Thurston County residents, and more. 

So, which words should be used to explain to the community the work of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance’s Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study?

Using the term ‘recharge’ was still causing the group worries during their last meeting, and they considered changing the word to ‘infiltration’. However, in order to stay consistent with word usage in state law, they decided to keep the word ‘recharge’.

Phase II  of the Study - Scoping

At the last scheduled meeting to wrap up their original time commitment to LOTT, staff took an informal round-the-room poll of members to see if they were willing to continue in their positions into Phase II of the study. Reflecting their dedication and interest, almost all the advisory board members agreed to continue on with their commitment to the process.

Phase II of the study will identify the actual activities of the study goals, activities, who will conduct the activities, the actual schedule and cost of the study. A draft public involvement plan has been developed and was discussed. The group will meet again in late July and hold an informational open house for the public on its work thus far in late September. Phase II is expected to be completed by January 2014.

There are several challenges to this multi-year study, as with any long – term regional plan: the diverse levels of interest, knowledge and understanding of water related topics, evolving and varied viewpoints of current science, a lack of regulatory guidelines regarding reclaimed water, and the fact that LOTT is already infiltrating reclaimed water at Hawks Prairie. In fact, the cities of Lacey and Olympia are expected to begin sub-surface infiltration as part of their Woodland Creek Infiltration Project in the Fall of 2013.

Above: Ben McConkey, LOTT Clean Water Alliance facilities coordinator and project manager for the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, gives a community tour today of the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant in downtown Olympia. Here, McConkey shows a layer of scum being skimmed off the top of water in the Primary Clarifier area of the plant.  

 

Ongoing Questions and Growth in South Sound

Some members of the community, as well as members of the groundwater advisory group, question why groundwater recharge continues while the groundwater study is underway.

Karla Fowler, LOTT Community Relations and Environmental Policy Director, answered some of these questions at the last advisory group meeting:

Why not just discharge more wastewater to Puget Sound, instead of infiltrating reclaimed water? Short answer, there are limits to discharging more to marine waters, and Budd Inlet is already an impaired water system. Fowler discussed two ongoing state Department of Ecology studies that may soon require the LOTT Alliance to put less water into Budd Inlet.

Is this study just a marketing plan to “sell” the public on infiltration because there are no alternatives? Fowler emphatically says no, that LOTT is just trying to understand the science so local decision makers can reaffirm or change what they are doing. She says there are alternatives, but they are different than what has been studied before, such as cleaning the water to a higher level through a reverse osmosis process. 

Why recharge when we live in a place where there is plenty of water? Are groundwater supplies really limited? All our water resources are connected and there is very little clean water available when we need it due to seasonal needs and usage, growth, and related stormwater runoff issues. Our region’s growth is one reason why this study is needed. Increased water demands, and where and how to use wastewater is critical.

Fowler also said using reclaimed water for non-drinking purposes helps directly supplement water supplies. Infiltrating reclaimed water can be used as mitigation to help the cities acquire new water rights. She explained that that’s the reason the cities of Lacey and Olympia are working together on the Woodland Creek Infiltration Project. That project allowed Lacey to acquire new water rights by using reclaimed water to recharge groundwater at the Community Park on Pacific Avenue, east of Carpenter Road.

But, she says, the cities interest in water rights mitigation is not the sole driver for LOTT to infiltrate reclaimed water. LOTT produces reclaimed water and sells it to the cities for $1 a year. It is up to the cities to decide how to use that water, for irrigation or stream flow enhancement, for example. If the cities do not make use of the water, LOTT must have an outlet for it, and that is where the infiltration basins come in. Ultimately, LOTT is tasked with responding to our communities needs for wastewater treatment – existing and future.

Fowler said the groundwater community advisory group has raised a lot of good questions. “We hope to keep chipping away at those questions, providing more answers as we continue to work with you through the next phases of the study,” she said.

The decision to use reclaimed water in our groundwater ultimately lies with the LOTT Board of Directors, composed of four elected officials, one from each jurisdiction, currently held by City of Lacey councilmember Cynthia Pratt (chair), City of Olympia councilmember Steve Langer, City of Tumwater councilmember Tom Oliva, and Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero.  

Even before the ultimate decision comes to them, advisory board members have already made several recommendations on how to start educating the community and all Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater city council members and Thurston County commissioners on the issue now.

Tour the LOTT Facility

Ben McConkey, LOTT's facilities coordinator and project manager for the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, gave a public tour today of LOTT's Budd Inlet Treatment Plant. The tour provides a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes work of the facility, which includes seeing a screener with small holes that takes out baby wipes, condoms, tampons, rags, bottles, sticks, leaves and other materials that shouldn't be in the system. Primary and secondary clarifiers and ultraviolet lights further process the water so it can be discharged to Budd Inlet or used for other uses such as irrigation and other non-drinking purposes.

Above: One of the secondary clarifier basins. The Market Center building and the Olympia Farmer's Market can be seen from the LOTT facility in downtown Olympia.

 

At the end of the two hour tour, McConkey answered several questions and thanked today's group of ten people for coming. McConkey, who has a background of nearly 25 years in water and wastewater issues, regularly gives tours to adults and children.

 

Lacey resident Joel Carlson said, "Now I have even more questions. Recycling toilet water into tap water doesn't sound that good, but it makes sense." Carlson said his sister lives in Orange County, California where reclaimed water is treated to the highest level through reverse osmosis. He came on today's tour to educate himself about the water system here in Thurston County.

 

"I've lived here about five years and recently attended a "Sustainable Thurston" teach-in about growth issues sponsored by the Carnegie Group. In order to accommodate growth, we're going to have to look at higher density - I don't see any other way unless you want to see sprawl. The trick is to do it right."

 

"We put a lot of pressure on our water resources," said McConkey. "We use it, dirty it, and throw it away. I'm glad to see the interest - it's complex....One of the passions I have is water and my goal is to help you learn enough to be informed."

 

About the groundwater study specifically, McConkey said, "When I talk about it, I hear a whole spectrum of comments from, 'Why are you bothering me with that?' to very specific concerns. I find that if we don't get everyone's ideas to the best of our ability to help us identify key questions, we won't answer our questions about the best scientific methods and procedures...At least we can inform ourselves of the best options to take. A lot of good ideas can come out of that."

 

For more information about the membership of the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, the LOTT Alliance, compounds of emerging concern, and other water issues, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words, using the search button.

 

For more information on the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, or to go on a tour of LOTT at 500 Adams St. NE in downtown Olympia, call (360) 664-2333 or go to www.lottcleanwater.org .

 

The WET Science Center at LOTT offers kid and adult friendly interactive exhibits, activities and presentations that explain our local water system. For more information, go to www.wetsciencecenter.org.

 

The Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study group meeting minutes are available online. Audio DVDs of actual discussions are available by request. All meetings are open to the public. For more information on upcoming meetings, contact Lisa Dennis-Perez, LOTT Public Communications Manager, at (360) 528-5719 or lisadennis-perez@lottcleanwater.org.

Full Disclosure: Janine Unsoeld was one of 53 members of the community selected to participate in a one-on-one interview to discuss personal perspectives, knowledge and opinions of LOTT, the use of reclaimed water, and general local water issues. My interview was conducted by Patsy Tennyson, facilitator and consultant with Katz & Associates. Comments were anonymously incorporated into a prepared summary report dated May 8, 2013. Participants were not informed or knowledgeable of who else was being interviewed. The full list of interviewed participants can be viewed in the report under Appendix A of the report.

I have also attended every meeting of the groundwater advisory group except one, and have spoken as an individual during time for public comment. My remarks centered around a request for the possibility of televising groundwater advisory board and LOTT Board of Directors meetings for greater transparency and public education and involvement.  These comments and advisory board responses can be viewed in the group’s meeting minutes.

Above: The "stream" outside the Hands On Children's Museum next door to the LOTT facility is created with reclaimed water and permitted as a wading pool.

 

LOTT Groundwater Recharge Study Group: 16 Community Members Appointed

LOTT Groundwater Recharge Study Group:  16 Community Members Appointed

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

At the LOTT Clean Water Alliance meeting Wednesday night, the board approved a motion to appoint 16 members to the LOTT's Community Advisory Group for the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study.

The members are: Maureen Canny, John Cusick, Marissa Dallaire, Lyle Fogg, Holly Gadbaw, William Gill, Azeem Hoosein, Karen Janowitz, Emily Lardner, Bill Liechy, Scott Morgan, Pixie Needham, Tina Peterson, Ruth Shearer, Edward Steinweg, and Richard Wallace.

The LOTT Clean Water Alliance is beginning a multi-year study, called the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, to help LOTT and the community better understand how to protect local water resources while treating and recharging reclaimed water.

According to a staff report, the community advisory group is being formed for the groundwater study with a mission to assist the LOTT Alliance Board and a study team gain an understanding of community perspectives and questions, and ensure the study is designed to address community concerns. The group will also help identify effective ways to engage the public throughout the study.

The LOTT Clean Water Alliance received 39 applicants by the September 14 application deadline. The LOTT Board, comprised of four local elected officials representing the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County, reviewed all the applications and met on October 29 to select members for the group. The selected individuals have been contacted by LOTT and confirmed their willingness to serve on the advisory group.

The group’s mission and work plan are detailed in a seven page Mission and Principles of Participation document prepared by LOTT staff.  Applicants are expected to serve four to five months, and attend about one meeting a month, for Phase I of the study. They will be invited to continue for the duration of the study, expected to last about four years, but are not obligated to, said Lisa Dennis-Perez, LOTT's public communication manager, in her staff report to the LOTT Board tonight.

Dennis-Perez said it has been very difficult to coordinate 16 people's schedule for their first meeting, but a date is anticipated in mid-December. Observers are welcome at the meetings and there will be an opportunity for public comment at the end of each meeting.

LOTT board member, Tumwater city councilmember Tom Oliva, asked staff about scheduling a time to meet the community group representatives.  Applicants were not interviewed by the board, but selected based on their applications.  Due to scheduling difficulties, Dennis-Perez suggested that LOTT board members attend one of their meetings.

Community Advisory Group Members 

The community group represents several state workers, a doctor in pediatrics, an engineer, a retired nurse, and a former elected official, among other aspects that may have played a role in their interest in being involved with the study group.

Little Hollywood contacted several applicants to request information about why they wanted to serve on the committee, what they had to offer the group and the LOTT Board, and what they hoped to learn. Several were able to respond on short notice.

Holly Gadbaw

A former elected official, Holly Gadbaw, was the first to respond:

“I served on the LOTT Advisory Committee, later the Alliance, for 15 years. I was part of making the decisions on the treatment systems used at LOTT today, the agreement to form the Alliance, and the components of the highly managed plan. I was knowledgeable about the science that was the basis of these decisions. However, it has been 10 years since I have delved into the science on which managing wastewater treatment should be based, and would appreciate the opportunity to bring my knowledge on the subject up-to-date.”

In her application, Gadbaw said she also pointed out that she thought that she had experience that would benefit the group:

“I served on the Olympia City Council for 19 years, was a member and chair at various times of the LOTT Advisory Committee and Thurston Regional Planning Council for 15 years, chaired Olympia’s Land Use Committee, served on the County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, served on Intercity Transit’s (IT) Advisory Committee (after I left the Council) and was involved in reviewing and approving several comprehensive plans, shoreline management plans, utility plans, and economic development plans. At the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), I oversaw the development of a series of guidebooks on growth management issues, including economic development. As a Hearings Board member, I have reviewed and written decisions on comprehensive plans’, including utility plans’ compliance with the Growth Management Act (GMA). I am certified as a senior mediator with the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC), and am a longtime member of the Heritage Park Board.”

Gadbaw said she was interested in the study because “decisions on future sewage treatment and decisions about regulations to protect our aquifers will be informed by this study.”

Emily Lardner

Applicant Emily Lardner of Olympia is a faculty member at The Evergreen State College. She responded:

"Ground water matters to me because it matters for all of us, and decisions we make today affect not only our health, but the health of future generations. The nature of groundwater requires that we act as good stewards. At the same time, LOTT has to find places to put reclaimed water which may include recharging aquifers. The intersection of these two issues—finding places to put reclaimed water and keeping groundwater clean for future generations—is at the heart of this advisory committee’s work."

Lardner also said that because she served on the Utilities Advisory Committee for the city for several years, and now serves on the Thurston County Storm and Surface Water Board, she felt she had some background knowledge that would be helpful.

She added, “I am very keen to see how the work of this group unfolds.”

Karen Janowitz

Karen Janowitz is a Program Coordinator at the Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program. She has over 20 years of experience in project leadership and management, facilitation, small group skills, environmental education, communications and administration. Janowitz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from the University of Colorado and a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) from The Evergreen State College.

In her response to Little Hollywood, Janowitz said, “I’m very interested in water issues, both in the natural and built environments. I focused on watersheds, riparian areas, and land use when I got my MES, and worked for many years in water resources at WSU Thurston County Extension. There, I ran a water resource education program for real estate professionals (teaching them issues from wetlands and woodlands to septics and low-impact development, among others), and facilitated the EETAC (Environmental Education Technical Advisory Committee) group.”

Janowitz added, “I’ve got an analytical and scientific mind, I’m community oriented, and have a good idea of how politics work in the region, all factors why I feel that I can contribute to the LOTT study group. I’m also excited to be involved in water issues again since I now work on energy issues.”

Ruth Shearer

Ruth Shearer of Lacey is a retired registered nurse and toxicologist with a Ph.D. in Genetics, and author of a book, Adventures in Seeking Environmental Justice in the 1980s, published in 2010. She is active with a variety of community organizations, including the Panorama Democratic Study Group, which hosts a monthly speaker series on the Panorama campus in Lacey. She also serves on the City of Lacey Planning Commission.

Asked why she wanted to serve on LOTT’s groundwater community advisory group committee, she said she was very concerned about drugs and other compounds of emerging concern in our reclaimed water system. She said she will be an inquisitive group member.

“I want to serve to find out whether and how toxic chemicals in wastewater are removed in the process of making class A reclaimed water. For at least four years I have helped lobby the legislature for passage of the Secure Medicine Return bill to keep drugs out of wastewater and leachate, and we still haven't been able to pass it. Big Pharma fights it tooth and nail. They would have to pay for it, between 1 and 2 cents per bottle. They can easily afford it, but know it would set a precedent for other states. I don't want drugs and other toxic chemicals in reclaimed water used for groundwater recharge, or even for irrigation, since pets, birds and squirrels may drink from the puddles.”

“I'm also interested in the depth and quality of soil between recharge sources and the aquifers. I guess I am interested in all aspects of the study, including the qualifications and independence of the study contractor.”

 

For more information about the study and the community advisory group, contact Lisa Dennis-Perez, Public Communications Manager, at lisadennis-perez@lottcleanwater.org or (360) 528-5719.
 

More articles about the LOTT Clean Water Alliance, the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, and compounds of emerging concern can be found at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, using the search button.

Above: Newly-appointed LOTT Clean Water Alliance Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study group member Ruth Shearer, above, introducing Washington State then-candidate for governor Jay Inslee at a Panorama Democratic Study Group event in early October.