fresh water resources
Planning for water―Science and local decision-making
 When the county began land use planning in the 1970s, water resources were scarcely taken into account. However, under the 1990 Growth ManagementAct, San Juan County took advantage of state funding to study water resources and make plans for probable future needs.
Basic scientific data collection is underway. A new soil survey to better understand the absorption capabilities of island bedrock and glacial till soils was initiated by the Department of Natural Resources at the recommendation of the Watershed Management Committee. Fieldwork has been completed; the complete study will be published within the next couple of years. Studies of seawater intrusion on Lopez, a recharge analysis for both bedrock and glacial till aquifers on the four main islands, stream flow measurements, and a surface water storage assessment are underway or already complete. This year the county’s newly-hired hydrogeologist, Doug Kelly, is describing critical aquifer recharge areas as part of the state’s mandate to revise the critical areas ordinance. He also will be applying sophisticated analysis to seawater intrusion studies that allows prediction of future trouble spots.
The people of Washington state “own” all fresh water in common, including rain. Water, like air, is a benefit for all. Recognizing this common right, the state regulates water allocations. For example, community water users associations need a permit that defines and limits the amount of water they may withdraw.
In theory when the Department of Ecology receives an application for such a permit, it applies four criteria: Is the water available? Will it be put to beneficial use? Will the new right impair prior rights? Is the use detrimental to the public interest?
In fact, those questions have been largely unanswerable. In the San Juans no one knows how much water is available or if an additional well will cause seawater intrusion that “impairs the prior rights” of other wells tapping that aquifer.
Some wells are exempt from the requirement to have a permit, although they are not exempt from meeting the four criteria. Exempt wells, according to state law, are intended for small-scale users to supply water for domestic purposes, industrial purposes, livestock watering, and irrigation of up to a half acre of non-commercial cultivation―and they are eligible for 5,000 gallons per day (gpd). Most exempt wells use much less than their daiannot produce that much. But there are no meters. Unless the owner makes an effort tly limit, either because the owners don’t need that much water or because the well co monitor pumping time or tank levels, no one knows how much water is withdrawn from the aquifer by exempt wells. In San Juan County 5,000 exempt wells are estimated to exist. An exact count is difficult to determine. In the 1970s the state ceased allocating water rights pending adjudication of existing rights. However, the hiatus on new water rights simply resulted in a rush to drill exempt wells.
A chasm exists between state Department of Ecology regulations and county jurisdiction. According to the 2004 San Juan County Resource Management Plan, the Department of Ecology has allocated 57 percent of the amount of recharge―at least twice the sustainable level. The county regulates environmental health by requiring proof of adequate water as a prerequisite for a building permit and by enforcing regulations regarding septic systems, property boundary setbacks, and well construction. But neither state nor county manages the totality of water resources.
Science and planning go hand-in-hand in a ratcheting process of learning and planning, learning and planning. The more information we gather about aquifers, stream flows, and current water usage the wiser decisions we can make for the islands’ future.
Salt water surrounds our islands. But it is fresh water that sustains us, both as individuals and as communities. Working together we can create a plan to live within our limited means.
FRIENDS will work to adopt recommendations of the SJC Water Resource Management Plan; build a constituency that supports stormwater regulation; review County’s wastewater discharge policies against permitted and non-permitted and stormwater outflows; obtain stormwater permit language that complies with the Clean Water Act; and adopt policies to implement the Puget Sound stormwater program.
Stormwater Management
Stormwater can threaten habitat for nearshore dependant species like eelgrass and forage fish by increasing erosion and concentrating sediment and other pollutants. FRIENDS is working with San Juan County to develop a comprehensive approach to stormwater that will minimize adverse impacts to priority environments.
Critical Aquifer Recharge
Aquifers are water-bearing layers of rock and soil that store water underground. In San Juan County more than half the population taps these aquifers for drinking water. In order to qualify as a “critical” aquifer recharge area, the land must contribute significantly to the replenishment of groundwater or it must be highly susceptible to contamination by pollutants from the surface. Typical pollutants include petroleum products from automobiles and other machinery, fertilizers, and inadequately treated animal and human wastes.
State guidelines call for counties to evaluate the risk of contamination via several parameters. For instance, if the depth to groundwater is shallow, an aquifer is at greater risk because contaminants may not be filtered by plants and soil. Similarly, highly permeable sandy soil permits the quick infiltration of surface water, putting the aquifer at greater risk. San Juan County also faces the possibility of seawater intrusion into fresh water aquifers (see FRIENDS’ summer 2005 newsletter). Although state regulations fail to regulate seawater intrusion in the context of critical aquifer recharge areas, good planning for San Juan County demands that the risk of seawater contamination also be taken into account.
Wetland Protection
 If a wetland is not already degraded, the most effective protection strategy can be as simple as providing a buffer between it and any activities that might be harmful. Depending on the size and condition of a wetland, it may be protected by an array of local, state and federal regulations. For information on specific land use activities, properties and local wetland ordinances, contact the Community Development and Planning Department at 378-2354.
Seawater Intrusion
Seawater intrusion, contamination of the aquifer by salt water, is already occurring in several coastal areas, particularly on Lopez. Seawater can enter an aquifer by two routes, lateral intrusion and upconing.  Lateral intrusion occurs when too much water is pumped from the a quifer causing the lens of fresh water to thin. When the lens thins, the pressure diminishes, and the mixed salt and fresh water moves inland.
Upconing occurs when a well, drilled near the shoreline in the thin edges of the aquifer, pumps salty water from the zone of transition directly into the well. Sometimes adequate fresh water resources exist in the aquifer, but because a well is poorly sited, it pumps seawater into the well. Recharge to the aquifer creates a healthy outward flow. Some of the recharge can be diverted for human use with no harm to the system. But if we “mine” the aquifer, taking more than a sustainable percentage of the recharge, we destroy the health of the whole system.
Information for this web page is derived from articles written by Carmela Alexander for FRIENDS of the San Juans Summer 2005 and Winter 2006 Newsletters.
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