Campaigning for clean water and a healthy environment for humans and wildlife
Parent category for Blog posts
By Karen Haase Herrick
Posted: August 28, 2024
As previously stated by the Alliance of Citizens for Edmonds (ACE), repeatedly stated by Edmonds residents and the chair of the city’s Architectural Design Board (MEN comment), “the City should not be allowing anything in the Comp Plan that is not required.”
Continue reading “Reader View: Comprehensive Plan — Adopt minimum state requirements to retain Edmonds’ charm”Link to full Everett Herald article
EDMONDS — The state Department of Ecology is advising the Edmonds School District to “take immediate corrective action” to reduce dangerous forever chemicals in Madrona K-8 School’s stormwater management system, after local water officials and a consulting firm both found contamination.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in hundreds of products, including nonstick cookware and firefighting foams. When people are exposed, PFAS can increase risks of certain cancers and weaken the body’s immune system.
The chemicals are not affecting the school’s drinking water. But environmental activists and leadership at the Olympic View Water and Sewer District are concerned PFAS will seep into the Deer Creek aquifer that supplies drinking water to homes in Edmonds, Woodway and parts of unincorporated Snohomish County.
In a letter sent earlier this month, officials with Ecology’s Water Quality Program recommended the school district locate the source of the PFAS. If the school district cannot find the source, Ecology proposed using “additional or alternative” stormwater treatment methods known to remove PFAS from runoff.
Removing PFAS from stormwater is an emerging area of research, Ecology spokesperson Colleen Keltz said in an email. But if needed, the school district could use a filter or soil mixture with granular activated carbon to address contamination, she said.
Madrona’s stormwater system uses underground injection control wells — structures that allow fluids to flow into the ground, typically under the force of gravity. The wells are layered with sand and rock to filter out pollutants. After passing through a metal screen at the bottom, the water disperses into the ground.
The Deer Creek aquifer is like “an underground river” beneath the school campus, said Taine Wilton, director of capital projects for the Edmonds School District, in a previous interview with The Daily Herald. The underground wells hover 40 to 50 feet above the aquifer, with layers of silt in between.
Still, in an interview earlier this month, Bob Danson, general manager at Olympic View, said he is concerned the wells “will actually dump stormwater into the aquifer.”
School district staff are reviewing and determining next steps, said spokesperson Curtis Campbell. He did not have information on how much the school district may pay for a new stormwater treatment system.
Ecology has not set a deadline for the school district to complete its recommendations.
“But we have been working with them on this issue and will continue to work with them to ensure that progress is made,” Keltz said.
Almost two years ago, Olympic View detected PFAS in Madrona’s stormwater system.
Olympic View notified the school district, and one year later, the Seattle-based consulting firm Shannon & Wilson tested for PFAS to verify the results. The firm found two PFAS chemicals: PFOA at 22 parts per trillion and PFOS at about 8 parts per trillion.
Joe Scordino, president of the newly-formed Edmonds Environmental Council, said the situation with Madrona affirms locals’ concerns about the city of Edmonds using underground injection control wells in critical aquifer recharge areas, or places where aquifers are particularly vulnerable to contamination.
Ta’Leah Van Sistine: 425-339-3460; taleah.vansistine@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @TaLeahRoseV.
August, 2024
Dear Woodway residents, South Edmonds residents, and Friends of the Environment:
YOUR “pure drinking water” is at stake. The City of Edmonds recently passed a CARA (Critical Aquifer Recharge Area) code that could compromise the exposed aquifer storage layer that recharges and contains YOUR drinking water. Sounds complicated? It is – as aquifer is a very unique soil. This flawed code allows new development and redevelopment to use UIC (Underground Injection Control) wells that would inject potentially contaminated stormwater runoff into the ground. If you are a member of Olympic View Water and Sewer District (OVWSD),
YOUR PURE DRINKING WATER is at risk. Everyone living in Woodway should be alarmed as this development may contaminate your water that drains to the “pristine” Deer Creek watershed.
Edmonds City Council was not provided BAS (Best Available Science) regarding the current Federal Regulatory Standards for PFAS (Per-and polyfluoroalkyl or “forever chemical”) which has already been noted at Madrona School. Read the August 8, 2024 Everett Herald news article titled “PFAS found near Edmonds school sparks concerns about wells” to understand. It’s an eye-opener https://www.heraldnet.com/news/pfas-found-near-edmonds-school-sparks-concerns-about-wells/!
To compound the issue, the City had not yet completed the necessary environmental documents for the City’s Comprehensive Plan update. Without the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (expected to be presented to Council 8/22/24), any decisions about how the City will mitigate the impact of development is unknown.
With Washington State’s push for density and the flawed CARA code process, seven citizens that respect BAS formed a non-profit organization to challenge this code decision to the Growth Management Board. This grass-roots group, Edmonds Environmental Council (EEC), has hired a preeminent environmental attorney in the State of Washington, David Bricklin, of Bricklin and Newman. The firm has filed an appeal with the Growth Management
Hearings Board and requested a free mediator since EEC understands the City’s DISTRESSED financial situation and the high cost of attorneys. A mediator has been assigned to the case and will run parallel with the appeal.
The EEC’s mission is to work with local, regional and state governments to educate them on unintended environmental consequences of government actions that don’t look at ALL the variables of the environment or infrastructure. We are not opposed to ‘responsible’ development and redevelopment, but we are opposed when unrestricted development is allowed that risks hazards to human health and potentially irreversible damage to our environment. Sometimes the environment and growth (zoning) are at odds and BAS NEEDS to now play a key role. It is a very complex appeal.
Folks, this is a serious matter. The PFAS threats are obvious and the quality of OUR drinking water is at risk unless we band together. We suggest changing the code to prohibit UIC wells in CARAs until the science of PFAS is better known and State and Federal laws are implemented. Unfortunately, the City said no and so here we are!
We need your donations to support these important issues. For as little as $20 you can become a member and get regular updates. The timeline may go out 180 days. So, join the fight to preserve pure drinking water.
Contact: Edmonds.Enviro.Council@gmail.com for details or visit edmondsenvironmentalcouncil.org.
Sincerely,
Joe Scordino, President and Diane Buckshnis, Vice President
Edmonds Environmental Council (https://edmondsenvironmentalcouncil.org)
Link to Everett Herald article
EDMONDS — The state Department of Ecology is investigating contamination near Madrona K-8 School, after a consulting firm found so-called “forever chemicals” in the school’s stormwater management system.
Continue reading “PFAS found near Edmonds school sparks concerns about wells”Posted Posted 7/13/24
By Brian Soergel
Edmondseditor@yourbeacon.net
Because of the risk of contaminated drinking water in Woodway and south Edmonds, a newly formed nonprofit says its first action is challenging the recent City of Edmonds’ Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) regulation…
Full article:
https://www.edmondsbeacon.com/stories/new-nonprofit-challenges-citys-aquifer-regulation,90558?
Posted: June 29, 2024
My Edmonds News
Posted: May 27, 2024
Last week marked the final releases this year of “baby” coho salmon from Edmonds’ Willow Creek Salmon Hatchery into local streams to help the salmon populations in Puget Sound. On hand to help were community volunteers including future stewards of the environment and even Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen.
Posted: May 16, 2024
May 14, 2024
Posted: April 17, 2024
By: Bill Lucia – April 10, 2024 6:34 pm
By Isabella Breda and Manuel Villa
April 10, 2024
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first national drinking water standard for six so-called forever chemicals Wednesday, a change that could cost Washington public water utilities an estimated $1.6 billion, according to state officials.
By Joe Scordino
Posted: March 17, 2024
Do the citizens of Edmonds really want changes made to the city’s Comprehensive Plan (which dictates municipal operations in the city) so that we become known as “Edmonds – Where the Sewer Meets the Sea”?
Continue reading “Reader view: Time to speak up about the city’s Comprehensive Plan process”Shannon & Wilson
February 13, 2024
