Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, October 4, 2013
www.issaquahreporter.com
Water woes 2011 analysis for city of Issaquah reveals intent to assume water district BY LINDA BALL LBALL@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
A Salmon leaps out of Issaquah Creek, determined to get upstream to spawn.
LINDA BALL, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
FISH ON!
Salmon Days kicks off Saturday BY LINDA BALL LBALL@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
T
he weather for Salmon Days last year was unprecedented but, regardless of this year’s weather, expect hordes of people to gather in Issaquah this weekend for the annual celebration of the return of the salmon to Issaquah Creek. At a preview for public officials Sept. 25, Bob Everett with Washington State Fish and Wildlife, which operates the hatchery (with a great deal of help from FISH, the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery), said in the late ‘80s the hatchery was in tough shape. “It was going to be closed, but the community rallied and saved it,” Everett said. “You won’t find a hatchery to rival this anywhere in the country.” He said the hatchery is unique because it’s in a town that has grown up around it. Celina Steiger, the hatchery’s education coordinator, said over 10,000 third-graders visit the hatchery each year in a program called “Salmon in the Schools.” Eggs are distributed to classrooms throughout the districts. The kids watch them grow until it’s time to release them into Issaquah creek when they become fingerlings. Everett said the hatchery plays
The salmon are thick in Issaquah Creek. Linda Ball , Issaquah & Sammamish
Reporter
a critical role in the recovery of Kokanee, freshwater salmon that don’t travel beyond the fresh water of Lake Sammamish. He said this year the largest number of Kokanee have come back — 400,000 to 500,000. “Two (million) to 2.5 million chinook and coho are raised and released each year,” he said. “By the miracle of nature they make it all the way through the Ballard locks, out to the ocean and come back.” Everett said it is a continuing effort to upgrade the hatchery. Currently, upgrades are being made to the upper intake to make it easier for the fish to get to the watershed. The project is behind schedule, but he said it should be completed by the end
of October. Festival chair and Issaquah City Council member Eileen Barber said the one thing that citizens of Issaquah share is salmon and the hatchery. “They are icons everywhere in our city. It’s difficult to imagine Issaquah without the salmon,” Barber said. She said 75 years ago there were no salmon left in the creek due to mining and logging. Not only did the hatchery revive the salmon, but also it is an economic engine that benefits Issaquah by bringing in tourists who eat at Issaquah restaurants and stay in Issaquah hotels, Barber said. “The fish provide nutrients to the creek, which in turn sup-
“It’s difficult to imagine Issaquah without the salmon.” – Eileen Barber ports the habitat,” Barber continued. “Without the hatchery this city wouldn’t be the vibrant place it is today.” Last year 180,000 people came to Salmon Days, possibly a record due to the incredible weather. This year there are an estimated 60 food vendors to tempt your tastebuds, 70 nonprofit groups with booths, and an estimated 270 artisans. Salmon Days won Best Overall Festival in its category in 2012, awarded by the Grand Pinnacle International Festival and Events Association. Staff writer Linda Ball can be reached at 425-391-0363.
A document prepared for the city of Issaquah indicates that the city has been considering assuming water and sewer services provided by the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District to customers within Issaquah’s borders for some time. The Oct. 2011 document, simply titled “The White Paper Analysis of Operating Options,” was prepared by an unnamed consultant. It passed through the hands of Dan Ervin of RH2 Engineering, a consultant to the city, Sheldon Lynne and Kerry Ritland with the city of Issaquah’s public works engineering department, and Keith Niven the city’s economic development director. “We have two utilities, water and sewer,” said Lynne, the director of public works. “We have the expertise, knowledge and the skills — and we have a bigger picture focus on land use and need than the district does. If the city believes it’s in the best interest of its citizens — there’s no reason the district should fight that type of analysis.” The district serves 54,000 customers, and has been a special purpose district, meaning that is its sole duty, to provide water and sewer, since 1948. Lynne said that the state’s Growth Management Act encourages cities to be the preferred provider for urban services. The cost for the city to assume the water district’s service in Issaquah is estimated to cost $1.5 million according to the white paper analysis — the same amount as installing an active water treatment system. Issaquah and the water district are at odds over the city’s plans to SEE WATER, 17
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