Where does the Tri-Area get its water?
The Tri-Area is served by PUD #1 whose office is located in Port Hadlock. The Tri-Area gets its water from the same place Marrowstone Island will get its water - from wells in the Chimacum Valley. Some people and businesses with the Tri-Area are served by private wells. Ultimately all water within the Tri-Area originates from precipitation that falls locally and primarily in the winter.
-Bill Graham, PUD #1
What problems does Tri-Area face?
According to the WRIA 17 Technical Assessment completed in 2000, in the lower reaches of the Chimacum sub-basin, surface water quality is degraded, and use of both surface and groundwater is relatively high. Surface water quality is most degraded in the middle reaches of the creek. Hydraulic continuity is rated high to moderate high for much of the basin, and habitat along both forks of Chimacum Creek has been degraded. By 2016, more than 1,500 new residents are expected to live in the sub-basin, a 30% increase.
2) Will there be enough water for these other areas like the Tri-Area if Marrowstone gets its water?
Yes. Assuming new connections are added at the rate of anticipated growth within the PUD’s Quimper water system service area (which includes Marrowstone Island, the Tri-Area, Adelma Beach, Beckett Point and Woodland Hills). The PUD's term concern now is capacity which the PUD is currently expanding to meet the needs of the additional connections on Marrowstone Island as well as the rest of the service area. The PUD has planned for 250 connections on Marrowstone over the next 6 years. The PUD will likely need to find additional water sources 10-15 years from now to serve growing demand. Options for additional sources are many but limited in feasibility and cost including more aggressive water conservation, the purchase of wholesale water from City of Port Townsend, paying for the processing of additional water rights, purchasing existing municipal water rights and reverse osmosis.
-Bill Graham, PUD #1
Do we have enough water for the Tri-Area community?
This question is very similar to the question above. It is important to remember that enough rights and enough actual water are very different things. Perhaps the question should be, “Is there water available for growth in the Tri-Area?” Records show that Chimacum valley ground water levels have fluctuated with winter rainfall totals suggesting that our water supplies are highly dependent upon winter precipitation trends. Recent droughts in 2001 and 2005 caused water levels in local wells to drop, but PUD wells have since recovered during the last two relatively normal wet seasons. If climate change forecasts are correct for the Pacific Northwest, winter storm events may result in more extreme weather, flooding and rain-on-snow events. Luckily, ground water based water supplies such as the PUD’s should have an advantage over systems such as that of the City of Port Townsend that are highly dependant upon snowpack for storage. So even according to dire climate change forecasts, there should be enough water for the Tri-Area in the future.
-Bill Graham, PUD #1