Council committee updates: water system plan review, budget reappropriation deferred; landlord-tenant ordinances set for more public feedback

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — City Council committees reported a mix of informational briefings and procedural decisions at the April 14 meeting, including a status update on the water system plan and the city’s nutrient reduction evaluation, and a decision to keep a large set of budget reappropriations in committee for further review.

Public Works update: Water system plan and nutrient reduction evaluation

Council member Anna Stone, chair of Public Works and Natural Resources, said the city submitted an agency-review draft of the water system plan to the Washington State Department of Health and other regulators and is awaiting a regulatory review that staff estimated could take 90 days or longer. The city and its consultant have also advanced the Postpoint nutrient reduction evaluation required in response to Ecology’s Puget Sound nutrient general permit; the evaluation is intended to identify nutrient-reduction strategies for the Postpoint Resource Recovery Plant to protect the Salish Sea.

Stone said immediate capital work will focus on projects such as pump-station upgrades, additional storage reservoirs and pipeline improvements that may be needed for fire suppression and operational reliability. She said the likely scale and timing of nutrient-control…