Commissioners Approve Seawater Intrusion Amendment
Commissioners:
Thank you for approving, at the July 23, 2021 Board of County Commissioners’ meeting, the Guemes Island Seawater Intrusion Amendment, C-23-1, which instructs that a new well sight be reviewed for hydrogeologic viability before drilling. Especially important was the timing of final approval despite the recommendations from the Planning Commission and the Planning Department staff to again delay this amendment.
As important as approval of the amendment will be its implementation. Attached are the two documents I presented at the July 23 meeting demonstrating how long this seawater problem has been going on for Guemes Island residents. The article from the December 13, 1994 Skagit Valley Herald documented that an agreement had been reached to begin to address indiscriminate well drilling which threatened senior water rights by seawater intrusion. The hand-drawn map shows areas where well drillers were to notify the County before drilling. Another key in the map is that the well drillers were to report to the Skagit Valley Health Department. The major problems that developed were that Skagit County never enforced the policy and further weakened it by transferring the issue of seawater intrusion from Health into Planning and Development which effectively changed the focus from a health issue to that of potential infringement of property rights. In the intervening years many home owners on Guemes endured health risks and major financial burdens as they struggled to replace wells contaminated with seawater.,
Now that we have a fresh approach to the problem of seawater intrusion on Guemes in C-23-1, it is imperative that the County enforce this new initiative. The first step will be a letter to Skagit County and other nearby well drillers advising them of the new policy.
- Stephen Orsini
