May 20, 2013
To our valued District customers,
If you live in Sammamish, Northeast Issaquah, Klahanie or parts of unincorporated King County, this will be of concern to you.
You may have read or heard the news about a threat to your drinking water. This threat is real and comes from plans by the City of Issaquah to inject untreated stormwater into the ground above your pristine drinking water aquifer. What makes this critical is that it's a very short distance from the first of three wells owned by us - wells that provide half of your ground water, and wells that you have paid for through your water bills.
I'm writing to you because Issaquah has applied for an Industrial Waste Discharge Permit from the State Department of Ecology to resume injecting polluted stormwater into the ground above your aquifer. Ecology is preparing to issue this permit shortly. The District is very concerned that the permit falls short of providing the safeguards needed to ensure that your drinking water does not become contaminated. Injecting contaminated industrial waste stormwater adjacent to where your water comes from contradicts with the District's role of providing safe drinking water.
"Injection" is a method that literally pumps stormwater into the ground below. What's unique to Issaquah's injection site is its close proximity to a major drinking water supply for the District, your water supply. This stormwater from the Issaquah Highlands carries serious pollutants, including fecal coliform, which by State law does not belong in a groundwater aquifer.
Since 2008, we at the District have tried to work cooperatively with Issaquah to preserve your aquifer and the purity of your drinking water, including offering to co-fund a stormwater treatment system. Issaquah has refused every offer.
Instead, Issaquah has been preparing to take over parts of the District that fall inside their city boundaries, including our three largest wells threatened by Issaquah's stormwater injection plan. These wells provide almost fifty percent (50%) of your groundwater supply. This
takeover is Issaquah's way of silencing the District's opposition to the City's environmental disregard. Because the District is firmly committed to protecting your drinking water, we have told Issaquah that we will resist any attempt at a hostile takeover of any portion of our District, particularly when this kind of action would put your wells in Issaquah's possession, essentially silencing the District's efforts to protect those wells - your water.
Because the Department of Ecology is poised to issue the Industrial Waste Stormwater Discharge Permit to Issaquah, we believe you need to become informed and a part of the conversation. To help protect your drinking water, you need to be heard. The best way to do that is to write an email to the City of Issaquah City Council members and the Department of Ecology, copying the District, and City of Sammamish if you live in Sammamish.
 The City of Issaquah: [email protected]
 The City of Sammamish: [email protected]
 The Department of Ecology: [email protected]
 Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District: [email protected]
An even better and more direct way to voice your concerns is to attend an Issaquah City Council meeting and tell them personally during public comment.
Your water quality is at stake. And because this is a complex issue, we have a website that lays out the story in very basic terms.
While the issues are complex, the bottom line is simple. We will do everything in our power to protect your drinking water and to prevent a hostile takeover that will be detrimental to you and your investment in us. We would prefer that the City of Issaquah and Department of Ecology not treat your aquifer and drinking water as a test tube for perfecting the science of stormwater management. Your drinking water is far too important.
<broken link removed>
To our valued District customers,
If you live in Sammamish, Northeast Issaquah, Klahanie or parts of unincorporated King County, this will be of concern to you.
You may have read or heard the news about a threat to your drinking water. This threat is real and comes from plans by the City of Issaquah to inject untreated stormwater into the ground above your pristine drinking water aquifer. What makes this critical is that it's a very short distance from the first of three wells owned by us - wells that provide half of your ground water, and wells that you have paid for through your water bills.
I'm writing to you because Issaquah has applied for an Industrial Waste Discharge Permit from the State Department of Ecology to resume injecting polluted stormwater into the ground above your aquifer. Ecology is preparing to issue this permit shortly. The District is very concerned that the permit falls short of providing the safeguards needed to ensure that your drinking water does not become contaminated. Injecting contaminated industrial waste stormwater adjacent to where your water comes from contradicts with the District's role of providing safe drinking water.
"Injection" is a method that literally pumps stormwater into the ground below. What's unique to Issaquah's injection site is its close proximity to a major drinking water supply for the District, your water supply. This stormwater from the Issaquah Highlands carries serious pollutants, including fecal coliform, which by State law does not belong in a groundwater aquifer.
Since 2008, we at the District have tried to work cooperatively with Issaquah to preserve your aquifer and the purity of your drinking water, including offering to co-fund a stormwater treatment system. Issaquah has refused every offer.
Instead, Issaquah has been preparing to take over parts of the District that fall inside their city boundaries, including our three largest wells threatened by Issaquah's stormwater injection plan. These wells provide almost fifty percent (50%) of your groundwater supply. This
takeover is Issaquah's way of silencing the District's opposition to the City's environmental disregard. Because the District is firmly committed to protecting your drinking water, we have told Issaquah that we will resist any attempt at a hostile takeover of any portion of our District, particularly when this kind of action would put your wells in Issaquah's possession, essentially silencing the District's efforts to protect those wells - your water.
Because the Department of Ecology is poised to issue the Industrial Waste Stormwater Discharge Permit to Issaquah, we believe you need to become informed and a part of the conversation. To help protect your drinking water, you need to be heard. The best way to do that is to write an email to the City of Issaquah City Council members and the Department of Ecology, copying the District, and City of Sammamish if you live in Sammamish.
 The City of Issaquah: [email protected]
 The City of Sammamish: [email protected]
 The Department of Ecology: [email protected]
 Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District: [email protected]
An even better and more direct way to voice your concerns is to attend an Issaquah City Council meeting and tell them personally during public comment.
Your water quality is at stake. And because this is a complex issue, we have a website that lays out the story in very basic terms.
While the issues are complex, the bottom line is simple. We will do everything in our power to protect your drinking water and to prevent a hostile takeover that will be detrimental to you and your investment in us. We would prefer that the City of Issaquah and Department of Ecology not treat your aquifer and drinking water as a test tube for perfecting the science of stormwater management. Your drinking water is far too important.
<broken link removed>
