Newsletter December 2003

December 31, 2003 Dear Customer: The staff and commissioners of the Lake Forest Park Water District wish to inform you of the current status of our negotiations with King County regarding the Brightwater sewer project.  As you are aware, this project involves new sewer lines in our area and a new sewer treatment plant.  On November 20, King County Executive Ron Sims announced the selection of the sewer plant site, the route of the sewer line, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement has been published. Over the past one-and-a-half years your Water District staff, engineer and commissioners, as well as our attorney and a consulting hydrogeologist, have been in communication with Brightwater project engineers, hydrogeologists, and other staff regarding potential hazards from the effluent sewer line passing through our aquifer.  The sewer line route selected follows 195th Street in Lake Forest Park and passes through the District aquifer, about 2000 feet north of our the wellfield area. On December 6, 2003, after intense and lengthy negotiations, an agreement was signed between the District and King County addressing our concerns and providing for mitigation if your water source is damaged either during construction or after the project is completed.  You may read this agreement on the District website at www.lfpwd.org or in the office at 4029 NE 178th Street. In brief, the agreement calls for monitoring the construction project and the completed line and guarantees that if the line or its construction causes permanent damage to your water supply, King County will provide a substitute potable water supply at county expense.  At this time the hydrogeologic testing has not been started, but it should be under way soon after the first of the year.  This testing should give us substantial information on the potential impacts to our water source.  Construction of the sewer line through our area probably will not occur prior to 2005 or 2006. The negotiations to reach this agreement have been difficult, but we believe that the outcome represents the best available means of safeguarding the high quality water you expect from the District.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the office or any of the commissioners. Sincerely, Gordon E. Hungar President, Board of Commissioners

 

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