City staff propose limiting construction dewatering in Redmond's aquifer area to protect supply wells; ordinance eyed for June

City environmental and utilities staff recommended tightening Redmond Municipal Code 13.25 to restrict temporary construction dewatering within the city's Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) to elevator pits, footings and utilities only, citing groundwater protection and predictability for water supply, water quality and monitoring.

Deputy Public Works Director Chris Stenger introduced the item and said Jessica Atlakson, senior environmental scientist, would summarize the background, rationale and proposed code language. The staff presentation traced a multi-year process of technical analysis, stakeholder outreach and interim limits that began with a triple-bottom-line study in 2021 and continued through policy analysis in late 2021 and interim restrictions in 2022. "We're here this evening to provide a bit of a deeper dive into the rationale and history of Redmond Numismal code 13 decimal 25, temporary construction dewatering," Stenger said at the start of…