San Juan County staff outline water‑resilience plan and a 'best fit' approach to solar siting
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Summary
Climate staff told the council roundtables identified water‑system vulnerabilities and renewable‑energy barriers; next steps include a Department of Ecology‑funded water inventory for 2026 and creating a collaborative solar 'best fit' mapping process with local partners.
Angela Broderick, San Juan County’s climate and sustainability coordinator, told the council she convened two roundtables this year to focus on water resilience and renewable energy after policies in the county’s updated comprehensive plan flagged the topics as priorities.
Broderick said the Water and Climate Roundtable documented both resilience efforts and gaps in monitoring, permitting and enforcement. “The town of Bridal Harbor installed radio read meters, and they detected over 100 leaks in the first week,” Broderick said, and noted that East Sound Water’s cell‑phone‑based metering reduced waste loss to “below 20%.” She told council members that challenges include limited county enforcement capacity, data gaps, permitting barriers for graywater and the energy costs for desalination systems.
The county’s water resiliency work is funded for 2026–27 through the Washington State Department of Ecology, Broderick said. “This year we will work on a water resource inventory and baseline assessment,” she said, adding that the county intends to convene workshops with water providers in 2027 to co‑create management actions and draft a plan.
On energy, Broderick described an Energy and Climate Roundtable that brought utility and port staff together with local community representatives. She said participants favored a “best fit” solar‑siting process — a positive, opportunity‑focused approach that seeks areas suitable for utility‑scale solar and aims to build trust with landowners and communities rather than starting from where to prohibit projects.
“We’re currently looking at partnerships options with Opelco, and putting together a formal collaborative working group,” Broderick said. She asked council for feedback on continuing the work and for a head nod to join the Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative. Multiple council members expressed support during the meeting.
Broderick said the county will produce a public mapping resource that layers feasibility and community input and may lead to ordinance or code recommendations. She cautioned the process will be high level at first and will require more staff capacity and partner engagement.
Next steps: staff will continue convening water providers, develop the inventory and baseline assessment under Ecology funding, and pursue the collaborative working group to develop a formal solar siting process.
