Campaigning for clean water and a healthy environment for humans and wildlife
by Eliza Aronson
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Link to Everett Herald article
EDMONDS — Last week, Olympic View Sewer District gave its notice of intent to sue Edmonds School District over what it says are long-standing water pollution issues at Madrona K-8 School.
Continue reading “Sewer district notifies Edmonds schools of intent to sue”After a two-and-a-half hour public comment session, the council tabled its votes for the two comprehensive plan amendments.
By Jenna Peterson
Wednesday, April 2
Link to Everett Herald Article
Richie Gabriel, 1, jumps off the bottom of the slide as Matthew Gabriel looks down at him from the play structure at Hummingbird Hill Park on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Continue reading “Edmonds residents show up for Hummingbird Hill Park, Frances Anderson Center”The examiner revoked the city’s Determination of Non-Significance, forcing Edmonds to address infrastructure issues on the creek
By by Eliza Aronson
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Link to Everett Herald article
EDMONDS — The city of Edmonds has work to do on Perrinville Creek.
On Friday, City Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts decided city staff must address safety issues about a corroded pipe that connects the last few hundred feet of stream to Puget Sound, and consequently restore fish passage along the lower portion of the creek.
Continue reading “Edmonds Hearing Examiner decides on Perrinville Creek saga”by Eliza Aronson
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Closing arguments were submitted last week in a hearing that could determine if the creek will be passable for salmon in the next three years.
Continue reading “Examiner to decide route of Perrinville Creek”For years, locals have begged the city to remove fish barriers in Perrinville Creek. A federal grant could help.
by Ta’Leah Van Sistine
Saturday, September 21, 2024 6:30am
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/give-them-a-chance-the-fight-to-bring-salmon-back-to-edmonds-stream/
Once cleanup is done, Edmonds could purchase the Unocal property. Advocates say land could bring salmon back to the marsh.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/ecology-invites-public-comment-on-cleanup-next-to-edmonds-marsh
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.
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”