The Water Service of Clallam PUD

Time to wash dishes? Brush your teeth? Take a shower? Just turn on the water and out it comes. Sounds easy, right? Actually, getting that water to come out of your faucet is not so simple. Here’s one story about a Clallam County water utility.

Although most folks in Clallam County are aware of Clallam PUD (Public Utility District) as an electric utility, you may not know that Clallam PUD is also a water utility.  I personally like to pay close attention to these folks because I get water at my home from the PUD. But also, in the early 2000’s I served as a Commissioner for Thurston PUD and learned a lot about the water utility business from that experience.

Who do you get your water from? There’s a good chance it’s Clallam PUD. They own 6 systems, with over 5,000 connections and serving over 11,400 residents.  According to WDOH’s database (https://doh.wa.gov/data-statistical-reports/environmental-health/drinking-water-system-data/data-download), ) in Clallam County there are 161 large water systems (Group A systems – I’ll get to that shortly). This represents over 29,000 households (called “connections” in water utility jargon) and over 57,000 residents. So, Clallam PUD’s systems represent over 14% of the county’s residents and almost 14% of all Group A connections. Only the City of Port Angeles is larger, serving over 10,100 connections and 19,000 residents. Port Angeles and the PUD combined serve almost half of the county’s residents.

To put Clallam PUD’s water systems in context, it helps to know a little about how water systems are regulated. In Washington there are effectively 3 categories of water systems, based on size: Group A Community Water Systems, Group B, and individual wells.

A system falls under Group A if it serves 15 or more service connections or 25 or more residents. (There are other ways a system can become Group A, but we’ll keep it simple for now.) State Department of Health (WDOH) regulates Group A systems under State laws, a variety of regulations, and agency policies. WDOH provides these examples of Group A systems: “a municipality, subdivision, mobile home park, apartment complex, college with dormitories, nursing home, or prison.” You can learn more here: https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/water-system-assistance/group-community-water-systems. Group A systems serve about three-quarters of the county’s population – about 77,600 people. Clallam PUD’s 6 systems are all Group A.

Bowen Kendrick

Clallam PUD Director of 

Water and Wastewater

Group B systems are smaller than Group A systems but usually have at least 2 connections. Typically, local Health Departments regulate Group B systems according to State laws and regulation, with oversight from WDOH.

Individual wells are the homeowner’s responsibility. Issues with health and water quality for homeowner wells are handled by local health districts.

To learn more about Clallam PUD’s systems, I sat down with their Director of Water and Wastewater, Bowen Kendrick. Bowen explained some of the complexities of their water systems.

Port Angeles Composite

The PUD’s largest system is the Port Angeles Composite, with four areas serving around 3,400 connections. “There are about 1600 connections between Gales, Mt. Angeles and Monroe. Fairview has about 1800 connections” explains Bowen. “Water for the Fairview portion is produced by the PUD from wells and filtered water from the dam diversion on Morse Creek. For the other three areas we buy water from the City of Port Angeles.”

In general, there are two major challenges for supplying a water system. The system needs a dependable water supply with water rights. And the system needs to be maintained and sometimes replaced, including wells, pipes, pumps valves, and other parts and equipment.

Bowen says the water supply for the PA Composite system is solid. “We have a purchase agreement with the City through 2036. The City water comes from the Elwha River, and there is plenty of water available both in the river and through the water right. We recently replaced the Morse well at the end of Gasman Road, and we now have a well for backup. We have to cut off the Morse Creek source if creek flows are low, so it’s good to have the extra well capacity.”

The agreement with the City adds a few more twists. The main connecting the City and PUD service areas need to be replaced, and the City has proposed a creative approach that eliminates the need for part of the main by swapping customers and water sources in the Monroe area. Negotiations are in progress (have been for years actually), and nothing is decided. “Our relationship with the City has been good and is improving” notes Bowen.

Map of Clallam PUD’s Port Angeles Composite water system boundaries

One major challenge for PUD is the age of its systems. “We have 150 miles of water mains total, and 70% of them are at the end of their life spans” observes Bowen. Replacing or refurbishing water lines is very expensive and generally relies on grants or low-interest loans. The Washington Public Works Board (https://www.commerce.wa.gov/pwb/pwb-financing/) shows many loans of millions of dollars r replacement of water mains.

Clallam Bay – Sekiu

The Clallam Bay – Sekiu system (CB-S) is the PUD’s second largest system at around 450 connections. This system faces a variety of challenges. Bowen explains: “This system uses four wells, which are likely hydraulically connected the Hoko River. Water is piped to Sekiu and then on to Clallam Bay. Customers in Clallam Bay includes the Corrections Center, with serves the equivalent of over a thousand customers (“Equivalent Residential Users”, or ERUs).

Landslides are a perennial problem with the long water lines and the unstable geology of that area. A few years ago, a landslide took out a water main, forcing the PUD to install an emergency bypass main that sits above ground. We’re working with Department of Transportation to install a permanent line below ground, but it’s taken a while” Bowen explains. “We got funding from FEMA through a hazard mitigation grant for engineering of 3,600 feet of transmission line in the slide problem area. We are hoping to receive additional funding from FEMA for the construction phase.”

The CB-S system also has 70 miles of aging water mains. Bowen notes: “Three miles have been completed so far. By end of 2025, we’ll have replaced approximately four miles of the worst mains.”

Map of Clallam PUD’s Clallam Bay - Sekiu water system boundaries

Carlsborg

The PUD’s Carlsborg system serves over 300 connections in the unincorporated Urban Growth Area (UGA). “Carlsborg faces multiple challenges” says Bowen, “nitrates in the wells, population growth, and limited water right capacity.”

Nitrates are a regulated pollutant, because high levels can cause problems with oxygen in the blood (for example “blue baby disease”) and other health problems. High nitrates in wells are a common problem in areas where agriculture has applied fertilizer or stored manure (https://ecology.wa.gov/water-shorelines/water-quality/groundwater/nitrate-data-assessment).

“The PUD currently serves this system with a single well”, says Bowen, “and it has nitrate levels of around 7 mg/L. This is an acceptable level, below the drinking water criterion of 10 mg/L. But it’s above the trigger level of 5 mg/L where we are required to pursue options for lowering the nitrate concentration in the water.”  The PUD is exploring blending high and low nitrate water as a treatment technique to lower concentrations in delivered water. But replacing wells with high nitrates is the best long-term solution.

Because Carlsborg is part of a UGA, it is an area of focused growth under County planning. There are several proposals for developments in that area. But the Carlsborg system is limited by the size of its water right. The PUD has applied to the Department of Ecology for a larger water right for a new fourth well. This would serve projected growth and reduce the use of nitrate-contaminated wells.

Carlsborg lies in the Dungeness basin, so Increasing its water right is a complex process. Bowen explains: “we proposed drilling a deep well into the 4^th aquifer, which we think will have very little effect on the River. But there is some effect, and our consultants have tried to model that effect to satisfy Ecology.”

Agreeing on a model is just the first step. Then the impacts on the river and other water rights needs to be mitigated. “We’ve proposed several mitigations, such as buying conserved water from irrigators” says Bowen. “The Dungeness water regulations and Court decisions makes requirements for new water rights complex and stringent, but it also gives us a clear set of rules to follow.” The County has provided support for the water right application, and work continues on finding a mitigation plan acceptable to Ecology.

Map of Clallam PUD’s Carlsborg water system boundaries

Evergreen, Island View, and Panoramic Heights

The Evergreen system lies to the south of Sequim in the Bell Hill area, serving around 600 connections. Part of the system is in the City of Sequim and part is in unincorporated County. This has required some close coordination between the PUD and the City. “We have a service area agreement and a water wheeling agreement” explains Bowen, “but no formal interlocal agreement.”

Island View and Panoramic Heights systems round out the PUD stable of systems. They are small systems with about 40 and 15 connections, respectively.

Map of Clallam PUD’s Evergreen water system boundaries

Map of Clallam PUD’s Island View water system boundaries

Map of Clallam PUD’s Panoramic Heights water system boundaries

Keeping the water flowing

As you hopefully can see by now, the PUD faces a lot of challenges in making sure you have water when you turn on the faucet. On any given day over the course of a year, problems crop up that have to be dealt with. Here are some examples:

 Water main breaks. As you can see from this discussion, there are a lot of old pipes out there. Nature keeps wearing on them, and they can break at any time. Although the PUD is trying to upgrade the oldest pipes as soon as possible, funding limitations and the high cost of pipe replacement means that pipe breaks are going to happen. If a break affects your home, have patience and follow the PUD’s instructions.

Drought restrictions are an ongoing reality with our summers that are dry and getting drier. The PUD and City need to limit water use when stream flows get low to protect salmon habitat. The biggest summer use of water is for water landscape, so consider letting your lawn “go to sleep” in the summer and plant drought-tolerant landscaping.

And finally, the PUD has a big team of workers who do a lot more than check your meters. They fix line breaks, maintain pumps and reservoirs, take water quality samples, and lots of other activities to makes sure you have dependable clean water in your home. If you see a PUD worker checking your meter or making a repair, say “hi and thank you!”.

I hope this gives you a flavor for the complexity of bringing water to your home. In future articles I’ll drill down deeper into some of the specific challenges of water systems and their water supplies.