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COUNCILDATE

2/24/09

AGENDA ITEM

5F

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Olympia, WashingtonFebruary 24, 2009

Intergovernmental Agreement with Thurston PUD forOperation and Testing of an Artesian Well

CITY MANAGER’SRECOMMENDATION: Option 1. Authorize the Mayor to sign an Intergovernmentalagreement with Thurston PUD for testing of artesian well water andauthorize the Mayor to sign such agreement subject to Thurston PUDobtaining an agreement with Diamond Parking.STAFF CONTACT

: Rich Hoey, Director of Water Resources (360) 753-8495,rhoey@ci.olympia.wa.us

ORIGINATED BY

: Public Works Department

PRESENTERS ANDOTHERS NOTIFIED

: This is a consent calendar item and no presentation is planned. Staffnotified the following entities:

•

Thurston PUD

•

Washington State Department of Health

•

Thurston County Environmental Health

•

It’s Still The Water – a newly formed community group

ATTACHMENTS

: 1.Intergovernmental Agreement with Thurston PUD

BUDGET IMPACT/SOURCE OF FUNDS

: The estimated annual budget impact is expected to vary and couldrange from $300 to $1,000 depending on the frequency of testingrequired by Washington State Department of Health. The proposedsource of funds is the Drinking Water Utility. The existing operatingbudget for water quality testing in 2009 is sufficient to handle theseadditional expenses.

PRIOR COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REVIEW

: None.

BACKGROUND:

Artesian wells have a long history in downtown Olympia. Many of theearly businesses in downtown were supplied by artesian wells. Onewell, located at the corner of Jefferson Street and Fourth Avenue in aparking lot owned by Diamond Parking Service, Inc, has been used bythe public for decades as a source of drinking water.For approximately 10 years, the Friends of the Artesians, a group ofcommunity members supporting publicly accessible artesian wells,

graciously supported the on-going costs of operation and testing of thewell by a state-certified operator. In November, 2008 the Friends ofArtesians announced that they were disbanding and would no longerpay for operation and testing of the well after February, 2009. Failureto continue this required testing would likely result in the closure ofthe well by the Washington State Department of Health.In response, City Councilmembers Joan Machlis and Craig Ottavelli,together with City staff, met with representatives of Thurston PublicUtility District (PUD) to discuss taking over operations and testing ofthe well. This was followed by discussions with Diamond ParkingService, Washington State Department of Health, and Thurston CountyEnvironmental Health. Diamond Parking and health officials supportedCity and PUD involvement.Given the age and condition of the Diamond Parking well, state healthofficials also reiterated their long-standing position that the continuedoperation of the well be considered temporary until a new, betterconstructed, well is developed. Both state and county health officialshighlighted the challenges of finding an adequate site for a well indowntown, yet signaled their willingness to work collaborativelytowards a new well.A newly formed community group called It’s Still The Water, is in thestages of early organizing towards a new well. They will attempt topick up on the extensive efforts of the Friends of Artesians over thepast decade. Staff will be providing support to the new group.

ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS

: Thurston PUD currently operates many water systems in Thurston andsurrounding counties. Under the proposed agreement, Thurston PUDwould add the artesian well to the list of water systems it operates.The PUD’s responsibilities would include collection of all requiredwater quality samples and other actions as needed under stateregulations. PUD and Diamond Parking are negotiating an agreement toformally document the PUD’s role as the certified operator of the well.The negotiations are proceeding as of this date and the City’sagreement with the PUD would be executed after the PUD and DiamondParking reach an agreement.Given the well’s prominent location in downtown and importance formany City residents, Olympia would pay for the laboratory costsassociated with water quality testing.One of the City Council’s top ten goals for 2009 is support thepreservation of an artesian well in downtown Olympia. This agreementwill allow the existing Diamond Parking well to remain accessible to thepublic while a new replacement well is sought.

Option 1

: Authorize the Mayor to sign an Intergovernmental agreement withThurston PUD for operation and testing of an artesian well andauthorize the Mayor to sign such agreement subject to Thurston PUDobtaining an agreement with Diamond Parking.

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