UAC urged to back groundwater management plan as analysis shifts toward implementation

Bainbridge Island staff told the Utility Advisory Committee the updated groundwater management plan will be ready for the council to review on May 12, with a public posting the prior Friday. The committee discussed moving the plan from analysis into an implementation phase while acknowledging limits in modeling and data.

Chris said the most recent consultant performed a steady-state analysis and the data do not show the island is currently in a groundwater crisis; nevertheless, members agreed the plan presents a menu of management actions rather than a single prioritized sequence. "It's an evaluation — it's a very extensive evaluation of our current state of things and a list of things we can do," one committee member said, noting the plan does not supply a definitive carrying-capacity number.

Members urged the committee to support funding and next steps in the capital-improvement planning process, and staff said Peter Kurellis and operations staff will gather summer observations and a consultant will help prioritize head-of-the-Bay well site improvements, SCADA upgrades and pump rehabilitation. The committee discussed scheduling a short meeting to review the plan text and to decide which management actions to recommend to council.

The committee also discussed operational capacity and short-term study work the city will do this summer to assess how much water the Winslow system can supply to the South, alongside the ILA conversations with KPUD; staff reiterated that detailed capacity and financial analyses remain outstanding and will inform any future intertie decisions.

Next steps: staff will post the plan ahead of council review, continue summer operational observations, and present prioritized capital and management actions to the committee for recommendation to the council.