UTILITY COMMITTEE REPORT, JUNE 2015
WATER SYSTEM
2014 Sanitary Survey: Washington State Department of Health (DOH) conducted a Sanitary Survey of
our Water System, to be sure the system is properly operated and maintained. Sanitary Survey’s are
conducted every 3 to 5 years. The results of the survey this year indicated we needed to add insect
screen mesh onto the water tank overflow piping, add an energy diverter to the 20,000 gallon tank
overflow pipe discharge, and reseal the vault lid over the spring collection system (water system
headworks). These tasks were accomplished shortly after receiving the Sanitary Survey results indicating
their need.
Water Rights/Mitigation Credits: There has been no activity regarding Ski Tur Valley and Mitigation
Credits under the Water Rights for Cabin Owners program in the past year. I have contacted Ecology and
their consultant for an update. Ecology intends to schedule a meeting with Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife to review site conditions and evaluate whether they believe STVMA water usage during
summer months will adversely impact the Bull Trout by adding to Gold Creek dewatering. STVMA’s water
rights attorney has stated that this is the same process we would have to go through if we were to acquire
Senior Water Rights from another water rights holder, outside of Ecology’s Water Rights program.
Water System Operation and Maintenance: Water system valve upgrades were installed in June 2014, to
assist in isolating a significant water leak. The leak was isolated thanks in part to community volunteers
coordinated by Sue Mecklenburg. Thank you to all who helped troubleshoot the system and gather the
data needed to isolate the leak! The system has been fully operational since isolating the leak in July.
Water system improvements expected to be implemented in 2015 include replacing the hydrant valve at
the Burn Site. Regular annual maintenance to be completed in 2015 includes ultraviolet (UV) bulb
replacement and cartridge filter replacement.
Drought 2015: Washington State is experiencing drought conditions this year due to the lack of snowpack
in the Cascades. The DOH recommends gauging the water system supply rate, to get an early warning if
the water supply is dwindling. On the STVMA water system, when water is used by residents, the water
level in the 20,000 gallon tank is lowered. When it drops several feet, water from the underground tank is
pumped through the treatment system to refill the 20,000 gallon tank. After water from the underground
tank has filled the above ground tank, the underground tank is refilled by the spring (our water supply).
When the underground tank is full, water overflows (through an overflow pipe) into a small creek north of
the water system. That is the water flow that needs to be measured – the overflow to the creek. There will
be a calibrated 5 gallon bucket stored adjacent to the overflow piping north of the water system to collect
flow measurements – residents are encouraged to collect flow measurements and forward the information
to the water system manager if they are walking in the area of the water treatment system and wish to
contribute to the efforts. Flow measurements will be collected by timing the filling of the bucket to 2, 3, or
4 gallons (the markings on the bucket). The measurements will be converted to gallons per minute: if it
only takes 15 seconds to fill to 4 gallons, that is a valid data point equal to 16 gallons per minute. If it
takes 30 seconds to fill to 4 gallons, that will convert to 8 gallons per minute. Increments of 15 or 30
seconds are easier to convert, but even 4 gallons in 37 seconds is very useful information. I plan to
collect flow measurements June 13th and again in July: those 2 initial flow measurements should give us
an idea of what to expect through the summer and into the fall. If the flow rate is seen to drop
significantly, we may need to discuss further water conservation measures.
ELECTRICITY, TELEPHONE, PROPANE, COMMUNITY DRAINFIELDS
No updates.