Eastsound Water releases annual consumer confidence report

||| FROM DAN BURKE for EASTSOUND WATER |||

It’s the time of the year when water systems send out their annual Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR) to their customers, and I wanted to take the opportunity to say hello and to send out a quick update on what we’ve been working on over the past year.

First and most importantly, please see our CCR for 2020. The federal government requires all Group A community water systems to provide their customers with a report each year about the quality of water they serve (a Group A water systems serve 15 or more connections or 25 or more people). Attached is our report and we are very proud of the results!

Having been in the General Manager role for exactly six months now, I thought I would share with you some of my early perspectives (I will also follow up periodically as we make progress in the months and years ahead). So here it goes:

1. We Have a Great Team of Operators at Eastsound Water. Our certified Operators are diligent in their duties of providing safe water that supports all of us who live in the Eastsound area. They are bright, hardworking and care deeply about what they do. The next time you turn on your faucet please know that there is a fine group of islanders working 24/7/365 to ensure that you have access to clean and safe drinking water. They truly are amazing.
    
2. We Have an Adequate Supply of Water to Meet Current and Future Demand. Both Purdue Lake on Buck Mountain and our 6 active wells located in the Eastsound basin can provide sufficient year-round water for our customers and more. While our users have increased by over 50% in the past 15 years, our aggregate water consumption has decreased. This is the byproduct of sound water management and a system with few leaks (we reported an amazingly low water loss figure in 2020 at 7%), and islanders like you who embrace water conservation as a way of life. Great job to all of us.  
    
3. We have major infrastructure plans for the next 10 years. An in-depth review of our Water System Plan (WSP) is currently underway and will be filed with the Department of Health in the next 6-9 months. This plan will be our blueprint for the major improvements we’ll make for decades to come. Of particular interest, our Purdue water treatment plant is reaching the end of its lifecycle and decisions on how to replace that facility will be crucial to the long run capacity of our system. This is an exciting time for Eastsound Water, and we are embracing the challenge and responsibility.
    
4. Chlorine Optimization. In the past few months, we’ve implemented technology that analyzes and adds incredibly accurate amounts of chlorine into our distribution system. The result is that we are using less chlorine in distribution which most likely means less chlorine in your drinking water. We are very happy with the results of this project because it optimizes the fine balance between water safety and water quality. We hope you appreciate the benefit.

Last, I am very proud to be a part of this team and to witness all that goes on here to ensure that our customers get the best possible water to their homes and businesses.