Category: President’s Message
Jim Patton with Award for Service to WIWSA
“Folks — Randi — escorted by Sam — safely delivered my award for WIWSA service and I will treasure it …….. THANK YOU! Just not sure whether I will have to rotate it on the shelf with my award from the State DOH — or build another shelf! I look forward to attending future quarterly WIWSA meetings as a representative of my WBRA water system as you guide all “the troops” to clean drinking water. Warmest regards and Happy New Year, Jim” Continue reading Jim Patton with Award for Service to WIWSA
Calling Group B Water Systems
Whidbey Island Water Systems Association has a vacancy for a board member After years of great service to the association, past president Jim Patton is stepping down from the board to focus on running his own water system. This leaves us with a vacancy on the board, and we are looking for volunteers or nominations. We’d like to fill the position at the December 2020 member meeting. You do not have to be an expert, just energetic with the willingness to learn and assist with board duties including attendance at monthly board meetings and the quarterly member meetings and at … Continue reading Calling Group B Water Systems
Sticky post
Welcome!
Welcome to Whidbey Island Water Systems Association, a resource for all who drink water on Whidbey Island! Our members are Municipal, Group A, and Group B water systems, private well owners, and the operators, engineers, and others who serve those water systems. Our quarterly member meeting are currently held via Zoom. The meeting invitation will be sent via our email list only. You must be a subscriber to the email list to receive the invitation email. Click here to subscribe! Continue reading Welcome!
Note from Jim Patton
Jim Patton has stepped down as President of WIWSA. He has sent us this note to share with the membership: Although I have retired as President of WIWSA and it looks like I will miss at least a few quarterly meetings this year, I would like our members to know that I will be following the important work of our association and will always be available by telephone and email. We have all benefited from the knowledge and experience of our Board’s leadership team. Working closely with the water systems regulators at Island County and the State Office of Drinking … Continue reading Note from Jim Patton
WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2019 THE HOME STRETCH!
At the beginning of this year, our WIWSA Board of Directors decided to do more than encourage our members to complete their Small Water Systems Management Programs (SWSMPs). We dedicated our June and September Quarterly Members’ Meetings to focus on the first two of the three components of the SWSMP: Chapter One, Managerial Capacity, and Chapter Two, Technical Capacity and we provided copies of the 82-page Guide for completing a SWSMP (DOH Document #331-134), along with suitable loose-leaf binders. The enthusiastic response from our members showed that we were on the right track. Now, we are dedicating our December Quarterly … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2019 THE HOME STRETCH!
WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SEPTEMBER 2019
Perhaps the most “onerous” task for the board of any Group A community water system is the preparation of the Small Water Systems Management Program that is required by the Washington Administrative Code (WAC 246-290-105). In fact, there is nothing really complicated about putting together a SWSMP …. but it covers so many aspects of operating and maintaining a water system that board members feel swamped …… and that leads to putting off the task until the Office of Drinking Water conducts a Sanitary Survey and discovers that the required document isn’t complete or doesn’t exist at all. At the … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SEPTEMBER 2019
WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JUNE 2019
Every year, we receive many questions from our members about the Small Water Systems Management Program (SWSMP) that the State requires (Washington Administrative Code 246-290-105) of all Group A systems. Indeed, when you pull up the official Guide for preparing the SWSMP on your computer it does seem overwhelming (82 pages !!!! for Heaven’s sake) and that induces the urge to put off working on it for another day. Meanwhile, water keeps flowing out to our neighbors and problems of ownership and operations keep coming up – and even the most dedicated and competent water boards struggle to understand and … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JUNE 2019
WIWSA President’s Message March 2019
Those of us who were born before the so-called “Digital Revolution” still expect to find important data and information about nearly everything printed on paper. Wellllll, that revolution really happened and now we are all working hard to become “computer literate.” When we needed information or data about our water systems, for example, it once required an actual “voyage of discovery” down to Island County Administration, a “get acquainted” chat over the desk, and the patience to delve through records in every stage of decay. Not so anymore! We are indeed fortunate to have access to digital “Navigators” who can … Continue reading WIWSA President’s Message March 2019
WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2018
I would be surprised if any of our members missed the news about the earthquake near Anchorage …. and even more surprised if any of our members failed to “make the connection” to our geologically precarious situation here on Whidbey Island. The experts have warned us about our proximity to the Cascadia Fault nearby under the Pacific Ocean …… not to mention the Juan De Fuca Fault which is right under us! This week’s Anchorage quake would be a “slap on the wrist” compared to the magnitude of the shaker that we might experience at any time. Over the last … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2018