Sewer District Moves Ahead into New Year of Accomplishments

By Margie Doyle

(Updated from original post of Jan. 6, 2013 with input from Roy Light, ESWD Superintendent, and Sue Kimple, ESWD Office Manager)

Carl Yurdin, current Chair of the Eastsound Sewer and Water District, announced recently that all of Bonnie Brae and some OPAL Commons homeowners have signed agreements to hook up to sewer lines. The homes had previously been served by septic tanks, and residents had resisted signing on to the new and extended lines.

Yurdin was generous in his praise of the work of ESWD Office Manager Sue Kimple, who “has been instrumental in clearing up the financial information,” says Yurdin.

Bonnie Brae has been producing some 2,000,000 gallons of waste annually from its homes off Enchanted Forest Road. “There is no guarantee the material is going into the aquifer, but there is no guarantee that it’s not, either,” said Yurdin.

The ESWD maintains that it is required by state law to ensure that health standards are met; and that those standards require hookup to the district’s sewer lines.

Sue Kimple talked to each homeowner personally and walked them through the process, says Yurdin. “Once they found they could defer or reduce their fees, folks that were leery and resisted signing on before came forward to sign on.”

“Trust was built [in a process] that started off with folks angry, uncertain and misunderstanding, to become pleased and accommodating: they did the right thing to help the community.

“They really stepped up.”

Next on the ESWD agenda is replacing the outfall pipe off Port of Orcas property on North Beach. Roy Light, ESWD Superintendent explained this week, “The damage done to the present outfall was caused by the storm water outfall adjacent to our outfall moving around in winter storms and carrying the concrete anchoring blocks around which did the damage to our outfall.  Once our outfall had holes in it it filled up with sand and gravel from the beach blocking the pipe and making it impossible to patch.”

Yurdin reports working with several different agencies and with the help of Chris Betcher, an underwater surveyor, being able to save nearly half a million dollars “to the [district ratepayers’] benefit.

“Betcher did the preliminary surveys; he worked closely and cordially with a dozen agencies to get permitting for [570 feet of 12 inch pipe] between two beds of eelgrass.”

This spring, Eastsound Sewer district will be going out for bids for the outfall pipe repair project.

Another project will be a de-watering plant to make Class A bio-solids that normally can be used as surface fertilizers, Yurdin said.

The de-watering plant will make it possible to use the wastes on-island, rather than shipping those wastes off the island, at great expense. ESWD Office Manager Sue Kimple notes that “when the District has completed the installation of the Bio-solids Dewatering Operation, it will not only be processing its own septage and treatment plant sludge, it will have the ability to receive septage from other septic tank pumpers on the island.”

“That’s one thousand gallons that other pumpers don’t have to  take off the island,” said Yurdin, adding that the fee to homeowners will be minimal.  Kimple notes, “One thousand gallons is the standard septic tank size, so that statement refers to just one pumping.”

And the Sewer District remains in good financial situation with cash reserves.

Commissioners on the ESWD, besides Yurdin, are Greg Ayers, Dave Lowry, Ed Sutton and Mike Stolmeier, a former ESWD Commissioner who was elected to the board at the Jan. 8 meeting.

The ESWD commissioners meet the second Tuesday of each month in District offices off North Beach and Cessna Roads.  The passcode to open the gate is posted right at the gate. The public is welcome to attend ESWD meetings. The phone number is 376-2720.