Water permit fees in Lopez Village to double

Developers will pay twice to review water-system designs if Lopez Village and its urban growth area is their location of choice.

With a fee-increase of 10 percent scheduled to take place next year, the price of permit applications will be $285. But for Group A systems inside the urban growth area that cost will double.

The additional charge covers costs of dual-review by both local and state health agencies. County commissioners added the extra-layer of review Dec. 18 for developments which require Group B water-system standards. After the local review is completed, state health officials will determine whether designs satisfy standards of Group A systems and allow enough flexibility for future hook-up to the larger system.

“I regret being caught between a rock and a hard-place,” said Lopez Island Commissioner Rhea Miller. “But if people have to have the pipes ripped out of the ground and replaced, it would be a lot more expensive.”

Group B systems permit 14 hookups in San Juan County and allow for a maximum daily draw of 5,000 gallons. Group A systems, like those of the Fisherman Bay and Eastsound waters users associations, are needed for larger demand and require water rights from the state Department of Ecology. The state, however, remains stalled in awarding new rights for water.

“I don’t see Ecology re-distributing or issuing new water rights for a couple of years,” said Mark Tompkins, environmental health manager. “Without a group A, I don’t know how a UGA can go in.”

Tompkins fears that water supply to the urban growth area may be jeopardized by a growing number of Group B applications. A proliferation of small, independent and overlapping systems are difficult to manage, he said.

The state sliced its typical fee for review of local water-systems, Tompkins added, acknowledging that the overall fee will still be double.

In general, the biggest cost difference between the systems is the size of pipe required. Two-inch pipe, the standard for Group B systems, costs about $7.25 installed, while six-inch pipe for Group A systems runs at least $20 installed, Tompkins said.

The urban growth area has two districts with varying densities. The core, or high-density area, allows a maximum of six units per acre. The area outside the core permits a two-unit per-acre density. However, with a planned-unit development (PUD), eight units may be built in either area.

The county is currently planning for village growth, and projecting for future housing, transportation and utility needs. Water supply remains the key, said county Senior Planner Pat Mann.

“Water is the toughest to figure out because we can’t get a handle on the fundamental supply without a lot of time and a lot of study,” Mann said.

Last spring, county commissioners adopted an ordinance declaring the underground aquifer supplying water to Lopez Village to be a Critical Water Resource Area. Part of the ordinance obligates Group B water systems to join a Group A within one year if the hook-up becomes available. The ordinance established a citizens committee to help coordinate plans for future water supply.

Tompkins said the committee discussed asking that a moratorium on developments be imposed until water issues were resolved. He also told commissioners to expect a formal request to shrink the critical resource area boundaries to reflect only Lopez Village. Currently, boundaries encompass the entire aquifer surrounding the village. Tompkins said members of the committee expressed frustrations with labeling so much property as “critical”.

“Some people don’t like the term ‘critical’ and think it creates a stigma,” he said. “They say it should be either the whole island or just the UGA.”

— Scott Rasmussen is Staff Reporter for sanjuanjournal.com and The Journal of the San Juans. He can be reached at (360) 378-4191 ext. 13 or email.

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