March 7, 2000

San Juan taps new source for water

With breathtaking views of the Olympic Mountains and the Straits of Juan de Fuca, residents of Cattle Point Estates are surrounded by natural beauty.

But being near so much water has never been a guarantee that residents of this San Juan Island community would have enough clean water to drink -- that is, until they built a desalinization plant.

These days, they're encouraged to consume as much water as they can.

Residents of Cattle Point Estates, at the southern tip of San Juan Island, draw their water from one of the largest reverse osmosis de-salinization plants on the West Coast.

"We try to educate them to use more water," said Daniel Drahn, project engineer for the water plant. "With the desalinization plant, there's an incredible economy of scale."

While 90 percent of San Juan Island's drinking water comes from wells, increasingly islanders are finding that demands on well systems are creating health risks through salt water intrusion.

In 1995, that intrusion prompted the state Department of Health to place a moratorium on further build-out of the picturesque Cattle Point Estates and residents were forced to adopt water conservation practices.

But even then, water coming from their taps was often discolored and tasted bad, according to Eleanor Clifton, a member of the Cattle Point Water District.

That left them with only one choice. "There is no other water resource for us," said Clifton, referring to the limitless supply of salt water at their doorstep.

For $330,000 the district built a de-salinization plant, and for the last year residents have been treated to what Clifton described as "really superior" water.

Drawing water from Griffin Bay, the Cattle Point de-salinization plant has 37 residential connections and will eventually serve 67 homes as the subdivision grows. The plant is the largest, in terms of water produced daily, north of San Diego, according to Drahn.

Drahn was unsure how many de-salinization plants there are in the Whatcom, Snohomish and San Juan counties, but estimated there are fewer than 10 that pump 4,000 or more gallons a day.

Two tanks -- one 10,000 gallons and one 75,000 -- are used for fresh water storage. The plant produces about 21,600 gallons of fresh water a day, with about a 32 percent recovery rate. Photos by Sam Bennett

The Cattle Point plant uses a reverse osmosis system that pushes water through membranes at a pressure level of 800 to 1,000 pounds per square inch, preventing salt molecules from passing and thereby separating clean water from brine. The plant produces 21,600 gallons a day, recovering about 30 to 35 percent of its total intake as clean water.

But even though the subdivision had a clear need for a new water source, receiving approval for the plant did not come easily, according to Drahn. San Juan County permits de-salinization plants if they are used to supplement water systems or replace failed sources, but it does not allow the plants to support new subdivisions.

Water rights are not required for salt water withdrawals and the plant did not need a discharge permit, but a slew of state, county and federal agencies stepped in with regulatory issues before the plant was finished.

The state Department of Natural Resources was concerned with easements over underwater bottom land, near the intake and discharge areas, as well as development of an eagle management plan. The Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for pipeline marker buoys, and the Department of Fisheries issued a permit for screens used on intake and discharge pipes -- concerned about the potential harm to juvenile salmon.

"Most of the environmental concern centered around the brine discharge and pumping more concentrated water and how it could affect the underwater flora and fauna," Drahn said. Tests have shown no negative effects, he said.

"There's a real need for de-salinization plants, but permitting is difficult, to say the least," said Vic Adams, whose Snohomish firm 03 Water Systems, sells equipment for the plants. "People think putting saltier water in the bay will hurt the fish, but we have had studies showing that's not true."

Plant operator Carol Herbert watches over the de-salinization plant's reverse osmosis control panel.

But even if the system is environmentally benign, Drahn said the county's limit on de-salinization plants is a means to curtail new development.

"If de-salinization was allowed as a source for new developments, all a developer would have to say is, 'De-salinization is my proposed source,'" he said. "The effect (of the county policy) is to limit subdivisions based on water available. You could call it a growth management tool."

Addressing the needs of current residents will remain a challenge as demands are placed on the well systems, and Clifton said islanders will increasingly need to consider moving to de-salinization systems.

"There are areas of the island that have a much worse water problem than we do and they have not really addressed it," she said. "Everyone will have to face up to it sooner or later."