Our regular Quarterly Members’ Meetings have always been well attended and, I hope, have always provided information and advice helpful to our members.  We do get feedback after the meetings and we are grateful for the guidance and encouragement we receive from those who share those four evenings a year with us. In the dozen weeks between meetings we listen carefully to questions and expressions of concern from our members and that helps us to choose the themes and speakers for our next meeting. In the last several weeks we have responded to more than a few questions about how … Continue reading President’s Message – September 2018

WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE March 2018 First of all, three “housekeeping” details. One, this quarter’s Water News will be the last paper & mailed version of our quarterly Water News.  At our last membership meeting, almost all attendees voted to change to an email version and we will be communicating with you “digitally” from now on. Two, our next quarterly members’ meeting – 5:00 to 7:00 pm on March 21st – will be the last meeting at the Race Road Fire Station for this year.  The station will be getting a “top to bottom” renovation beginning this spring so we will … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE March 2018

WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SEPTEMBER,  2017 BACK TO SCHOOL!  I think that we have all been watching the natural disasters unfold down in Texas and Florida … and most of us have asked ourselves how well prepared we are to cope with some sort of disaster here on Whidbey Island.  Very, very fortunately, history shows that we have little to fear from hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or blizzards …… BUT, the geologists have frequently reminded us that we are probably overdue for an earthquake of some severity. It has been some time since we have devoted a WIWSA quarterly members meeting to … Continue reading President’s Message – Back to School!

Perhaps the best “diagnostic” tool for identifying problems with any small water system is a Sanitary Survey which is a comprehensive inspection mandated for Group A ground water systems by the Federal Government (CFR 141.401) with responsibility delegated to Washington State via its Administrative Code (WAC 246-290-416). In Island County, Sanitary Surveys of systems with more complex treatment facilities or special problems are conducted by the NW Regional Engineer for the State Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water. More routine Surveys are delegated to officials in the County Health Department. While these are not “White Glove” inspections as in … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JUNE, 2017

“WHAT’S THIS AWFUL STUFF IN MY WATER?  AND HOW DO I GET RID OF IT?”  I have gotten calls like this about once a month since we posted our WIWSA website with my telephone number on it. The frequency of these calls tells me two things: one, the “demographic” on our island is changing.  More and more folks are moving here with the expectation that their drinking water will be of the same quality as it was in City “X” somewhere on the mainland.  The other thing is that our association has to put more emphasis on explaining the need … Continue reading WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE September, 2016

Just recently, I had the pleasure and opportunity to sit with three representatives of a local ground water system which had just added new residents to their community and were moving up from a Group B to a Group A water system.  You all know our WIWSA mantra about the smartest thing that a Group B can do is to behave like a Group A water system by observing the federal and state rules for the larger systems.  Those rules were put into place in order to protect communities from unsafe drinking water and unwise business practices. The folks who … Continue reading WIWSA President’s Message June 2016

WIWSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE March, 2016 I believe that everyone who attended our December Quarterly Members’ Meeting (which was also our annual meeting) agreed that the tryout of the “World Café” was a success.  For more than an hour all of our board members, our Group A and Group B membership representatives and two members of the State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water sat in “conversation circles” to voice their concerns about the condition of small ground water systems here on Whidbey Island.  We were able to capture the sense of those concerns and that information will morph into … Continue reading WIWSA President’s Message March 2016

We are approaching our last Quarterly Member’s Meeting for this year, scheduled for 6:00 pm, December 16, 2015 at the Race Road Fire Station.  This meeting will double as our Annual meeting and we will attend to “housekeeping” duties like electing directors and presenting our budget for 2016 to be voted on by our members in attendance. Over the last few quarterly meetings we have explored issues like consolidation of small water systems, preparations for natural disasters, and the sources of funding for needed replacements and improvements.  For this meeting our Board of Directors decided to organize a “World Café” … Continue reading WIWSA President’s Message December 2015