As I am sitting down to write this column, the sky has darkened and a sudden rain squall is hitting the deck. The water level in the marsh at North Beach is rising with the day, and Guemes Island appears to be saturated with water. Nevertheless, our concerns with respect to the availability of good quality water for all islanders, now and in the future, continue to be verv real.
With a rain gauge on North Beach, we measured a total precipitation of 40 inches for the year 1990 and a record 11.5 inches for the month of November alone. One question is how much of this water actually reaches the aquifer system. Recharge is highest in areas with sand and gravel from the land Surface clown to the aquifer, but water seeps at a very slow rate through the clay layers as well. The remainder is lost as run-off to the Sound, as direct evaporation, or as evapo-transpiration by plants. Another question concerns the rate of recharge of the aquifer versus the rate of withdrawal. Unfortunately the rate of withdrawal is highest in summer, when the recharge is at a minimum. One question, that of the origin of our ground-water, appears to have been answered. Results of oxygen isotope analysis indicate that the source of the ground-water on Guemes is exclusively precipitation, a renewable resource. Many other questions remain unanswered.
The Guemes Island Water Resource Committee (GIWRC) consists of a small group of people, representing the Guemes Island Property Owners and the Guemes Island Environmental Trust. During the past year the GIWRC has met from time to time to discuss the various avenues by which we can address these questions. One limiting aspect of a hydrological study for Guemes Island has always been the high cost of a project of such complexity. For this reason we made an effort to locate outside funding.
On September 20, 1990, Joseph Miller and I met with John Thayer and Lorna Haycox of the Skagit County Health Department for an initial discussion of the water supply issues of Guemes Island. This discussion was followed by a meeting on the island on September 29 1990. Several government representatives attended: Doug Rushton of the Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE); Norm Dion of the Tacoma office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); John Thayer of the Skagit County Health Department.
As a result of this meeting, we made a formal request of the USGS to write a project proposal for the study of fresh water resources of Guemes Island.
Mr. Dion reacted very promptly and sent us on October 17, 1990, a preliminary proposal for such a study for review. USGS would assume half of the costs of the project. Skagit County has been identified as the lead agent. Subsequently Mr.Dion submitted the proposal for internal review to the USGS Regional Office in California, which has given its approval. The proposal is not a firm offer on the part of the USGS; the feasibility depends on the availability of personnel and on our ability to come up with matching funds.
At the meeting of September 29, Doug Rushton stated that a USGS study might qualify for WDOE funding. We are working on an application for a grant from the Centennial Clean Water Fund. If all goes well, USGS and WDOE will share the cost of the comprehensive hydrological study.
Parallel to our efforts, the Skagit County Water Utilities Coordinating Committee has received a grant from the Washington State Department of Health for the development of a Coordinated Water System Plan for the entire county. Guemes Island is described in the Scope of Work under task 6 as follows: “Residents of Guemes Island are aware that their aquifer has a limited quantity and should have special considerations. In a previous study, the DOE has outlined the salt water intrusion problem. This information should be used in the Skagit County planning process and the water system planning process. The integrity of the existing aquifer should be protected.” The work will consist of the gathering and interpretation of existing data, and ol 50-year water demand forecasts, based on population projections. In other words, it will not include a study of the ground water resources, Such as is proposed by USGS.
During the recent storm, several falling trees damaged our community wellhouse on North Beach. After a week of doing without, we have a new appreciation for running, clean water. In this case the trouble was easily fixed, but it was a timely reminder that our water supply is very precious and that we must spare no efforts in order to protect it.
-Marianne Kooimar, Winter 1991