Hannah Heights owners ask county to approve franchise agreement to move water after PFAS contamination

Katie Doran, president of the Hannah Heights Owners Association, told the council that her 44‑home community remains under an emergency bottled‑water solution after tests found the highest concentration of PFAS in Washington state in their primary well. She asked the council to approve an ordinance authorizing a franchise agreement that would allow water to be moved from a new parcel on Baylor Hill Road to Hannah Heights’ storage tank.

Doran said the association purchased a parcel with an existing well and has relied on Department of Commerce grants, administered by San Juan County, to truck water to a storage tank; those funds run out in December. “Without the approval of the franchise agreement, we can't move the water from the new parcel to our association and we will not be able to provide for our own,” Doran said. She asked the council to approve the ordinance later in the meeting and thanked county health and community services, public works and the assessor’s office for support so far.

Doran said the association had tried to obtain easements, drilled unsuccessfully within Hannah Heights, and that cutting‑edge filtration options were not yet approved by necessary agencies. She asked the council to approve the franchise agreement as the final step to restore potable water to Hannah Heights residents and to avoid interruption when grant funds expire.

No formal council decision is recorded in the public comment transcript. Doran indicated a county staff member (Jeff Sharp) would present an ordinance later in the meeting.