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Pierce County approves supplemental waterline franchise for Thurston PUD
Summary
The Pierce County Council adopted an ordinance granting Public Utility District No. 1 of Thurston County a supplemental franchise to locate water lines in county right-of-way; staff said the change lets the PUD add service areas without repeatedly returning to the council. The ordinance passed 7-0.
The Pierce County Council on May 27 adopted an ordinance granting a supplemental franchise to Public Utility District No. 1 of Thurston County to locate water lines in certain county-owned rights-of-way and authorized the county executive to execute the agreement.
Policy analyst Tom Swanson told the council, “The proposal before council would authorize the executive execute a supplemental waterline franchise agreement with public utility district number 1 of Thurston County.” The council voted 7-0 to adopt the ordinance (O2025‑511).
Why it matters: staff said the supplemental, countywide franchise is intended to streamline future expansions by Thurston PUD. “Thurston PUD can only operate within their service areas,” Swanson said. “The countywide franchise would allow Thurston PUD to add service areas without having to continually come back to amend their franchise.” The packet included a map showing the PUD’s current service areas and a separate franchise-area map for the supplemental franchise.
Councilmembers asked about potential overlap with other providers and with Pierce County’s own recently expanded water utility. Councilmember Denson asked, “Do we have any other counties, any other adjacent or other counties that have franchise agreements within Pierce County?” Planning and public works staff did not identify any other county PUDs with franchises in Pierce County. Councilmember Cooper asked how expansion would interact with other water districts; staff said the PUD’s proposals were evaluated against the county’s Coordinated Water System Plan to identify and avoid conflicts.
Staff noted an application fee of $2,500 had been paid. Swanson and planning/public-works staff emphasized the supplemental franchise does not change statutory limits on where a PUD may operate: service delivery remains limited to the PUD’s legally established service areas.
The ordinance was read into the record and considered after public hearing; no members of the public provided testimony on the item. The clerk called a roll; the motion carried with seven ayes and zero nays. The adopted ordinance authorizes the county executive to sign the supplemental franchise agreement.
