real-briefings

Executive summary

The Public Works and Natural Resources Committee met Monday morning to address two major infrastructure initiatives that will significantly impact Bellingham's water and wastewater systems. The committee unanimously approved a 10-year water conservation plan setting efficiency goals through 2035, while receiving an in-depth briefing on a $40 million air quality upgrade project at the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant. The water efficiency program represents a shift from previous 6-year planning cycles to a 10-year framework aligned with the city's water system plan updates. The new goal targets keeping single-family residential water consumption below 154 gallons per day per account, maintaining alignment with demand projections used in water system planning. The program includes continuing successful rebate programs, expanding direct installation services for low-income households, and exploring conservation-based rate structures during an upcoming rate study. The Post Point emissions control project addresses imminent federal regulatory compliance requirements, with the city facing potential violations if upgrades aren't completed. The $40 million investment will install new air pollution control equipment to meet the more stringent "Quad-L" regulatory standard, extending the operational life of the facility's incinerators for potentially 30+ years. Staff emphasized this represents a long-term solution rather than a short-term patch, providing breathing room for emerging technologies to mature. Council members expressed mixed feelings about continued investment in incineration technology, with concerns about sunk costs and environmental impacts. However, the regulatory timeline leaves limited alternatives, with the Northwest Clean Air Agency enforcing compliance requirements. The project will be funded through the sewer fund with rate increases expected as part of a comprehensive one-water rate study addressing multiple capital needs.

Key decisions

**AB 24481 - Water Use Efficiency Goal (2025-2035):** Passed 3-0. Motion by Lisa Anderson to approve resolution adopting new 10-year water efficiency goals and performance measures. Staff recommendation: approve. Sets goal of maintaining single-family residential consumption below 154 gallons per day per account, includes nine conservation measures, and aligns with …

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Policy discussion

**Water Conservation Framework:** Staff transitioned from 6-year to 10-year planning cycles to align with water system plan updates. The 154 gallons per day target reflects demand projections used in system capacity planning. Council discussed terminology challenges as the city moves away from "single-family residential" categories with middle housing implementation. Staff acknowledged need for responsive adjustments as ADUs and multi-unit developments increase, potentially affecting per-meter consumption patterns. **Conservation Program Evolution:** Discontinued rain barrel rebates after determining limited effectiveness (300-gallon capacity insufficient for meaningful summer irrigation impact). Expanded direct installation program for low-income households through partnership with Opportunity Council's weatherization program, providing full toilet replacement costs for units using 3+ gallons per flush. Monthly billing implementatio…

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Stakeholder positions

**Riley Grant, Public Works Communications Manager:** Advocated for water efficiency program continuation with expanded scope, emphasizing successful rebate program performance (2+ million gallons annual savings estimated). Supported alignment with water system planning cycles and exploration of conservation-based rate structures. **Casey Gish, Brown & Caldwell Project Manager:** Presented emissions control upgrade as lowest-risk option for regulatory compliance, modeling after successful installations at other utilities. Emphasized permitting certainty advantages over alternative technologies and minimal site impact compared to full facility replacement. **Mike Olinger, Interim Public Works Co-Director:** Stressed regulatory compliance timeline urgency, noting ongoing discussions…

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Notable quotes

**Riley Grant, on rain barrel effectiveness:** "When you're looking at conservation of summer, outdoor water use, 300 gallons really doesn't make a very big dent in the overall consumption. And so what is most effective are very large scale systems like, you know, 2,500 or 5,000 gallons." **Mike Olinger, on emissions project scope:** "When we say that we're going to do this emissions control, this is not just to buy us 10 years or to buy us 20 years. This is to meet future standards, which we…

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What’s next

**Water Efficiency Program:** Resolution proceeds to evening council meeting for final adoption. Water system plan with efficiency program chapter expected for council review in spring/summer 2025. **One-Water Rate Study:** Comprehensive rate analysis for drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater rates scheduled for council consideration in April 2025, addressing funding for multiple capital projects including emissions upgrades. **Post Point Emissions Project:** Brown & Caldwell proceeding with project-level design deve…

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What changed

**Water Conservation Planning:** Bellingham transitions from 6-year to 10-year efficiency planning cycles, providing better alignment with water system plan updates and more stable long-term goal setting. **Regulatory Compliance Strategy:** City commits to $40 million emissions control investment as primary path to federal air quality compliance, rejecting alternatives like full incinerator replacement or waste hauling due to cost and risk factors. **Technology Risk Approach:** Staff establishes clear preference for proven technologies over emergin…

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Full meeting narrative

The City of Bellingham's Public Works and Natural Resources Committee gathered on the morning of March 24th, 2025, to tackle two significant issues facing the community's water and wastewater infrastructure. Committee Chair Hannah Stone led the 76-minute session from Council Chambers, joined by committee members Lisa Anderson and Jace Cotton, who attended remotely. Mayor Kimberley Lund was also present for these critical deliberations about millions in public investment. The meeting underscored the complex and costly realities of municipal infrastructure management in 2025, where regulatory compliance drives expensive upgrades while emerging technologies promise future alternatives that remain tantalizingly out of reach. Both agenda items dealt with water — one focused on conservation to protect the city's supply, the other on managing the waste byproducts that modern wastewater treatment inevitably creates. ## Water Conservation Through 2035 The committee began with a unanimous approval of Bellingham's next decade of water efficiency goals, a routine but important step mandated by state law every six years. Riley Grant, the Public Works Department's Communications and Outreach Manager, presented the 2025-2035 water use efficiency program, which aims to maintain single-family residential consumption below 154 gallons per day per account. "This number is partially chosen because that is the number that we are using as our demand projections in our water system plan, which is currently in development," Grant explained. "So we want to make sure that we're aligning the goal to make sure that our consumption is below what we're projecting our demand will be when we're planning our water system." The program builds on five years of relative success. Bellingham's previous goal was to maintain peak summer water demand during July and August at 14 million gallons per day or less — a target they met in every year except 2021, when the Pacific Northwest heat dome pushed water consumption across the region beyond normal levels. Council Member Anderson raised a question that resonated with longtime residents: "I think it's probably four or five years ago, i…

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Study guide

### Meeting Overview The Public Works and Natural Resources Committee met on March 24, 2025, at 10:00 AM to discuss two major water and wastewater infrastructure items. The committee approved a 10-year water conservation plan and received a briefing on a $40 million air pollution control upgrade project at the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Water Use Efficiency (WUE) Program:** A state-mandated program requiring cities to set water conservation goals every six years to ensure long-term water supply reliability and promote good stewardship of water resources. **Single Family Residential Account:** The billing category used to measure water consumption, currently averaging 154 gallons per day per account, which includes everything from single-person households to large families. **Distribution System Leakage Standard:** A state requirement that water systems maintain leakage at 10% or less, calculated by comparing water production to consumption on a three-year rolling average. **Multiple Hearth Incinerators:** Post Point's two sewage sludge incinerators built in 1973 and 1993 that burn solid waste from wastewater treatment to reduce volume and destroy pollutants. **Quad L Standard (LLLL):** More stringent federal air emission regulations for new or modified incinerators that Post Point's current equipment cannot meet for five of ten regulated pollutants. **Air Pollution Control (APC) Equipment:** New emission control systems including thermal oxidizers, scrubbers, and activated carbon filters designed to remove pollutants from incinerator emissions. **PFAS (Per- and PolyFluoroAlkyl Substances):** "Forever chemicals" that don't break down naturally and are a growing concern in wastewater treatment, potentially addressed by enhanced emission controls. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Hannah Stone | Committee Chair, Council Member | | Lisa Anderson | Committee Member, Fifth Ward | | Jace Cotton | Committee Member, At-Large (remote) | | Riley Grant | Public W…

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Public Works and Natural Resources Committee

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