Real Briefings
Council Public Works & Health Committee
The Whatcom County Public Works & Health Committee received presentations on two major policy initiatives that will significantly shape the county's future development and child services. The coordinated water system plan update revealed that public water systems outside urban growth areas can accommodate approximately 3,335 new connections, potentially serving just over 8,500 people—a figure that closely aligns with the county's rural population projections for comprehensive planning purposes. This analysis will be crucial for the upcoming comprehensive plan update, as it provides concrete data on where water infrastructure can support future growth. The Healthy Children's Fund presentation demonstrated the program's expanding impact on food access and child services, with over 636,000 diapers and 5,000 formula packages already distributed through food banks. The fund's administrators unveiled a new comprehensive website and annual work calendar designed to improve transparency and public engagement. Both presentations highlighted the interconnected nature of resource planning and service delivery in supporting Whatcom County's growing population while maintaining rural character and ensuring adequate infrastructure capacity.
**AB2025-382 - Coordinated Water System Plan Update:** PRESENTED - No formal action taken. The committee received the preliminary draft and initiated a 60-day public comment period. Council members agreed to schedule additional discussion time before …
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**Coordinated Water System Plan Analysis:** The plan reveals significant spatial inequality in water system capacity across Whatcom County. While 98 group A community water systems exist in the critical water supply service area, only 55 can actually provide additional connections based on water rights, operating permits, and approved connection limits. Most systems with "unspecified" connection capacity are located within urban growth areas, while rural areas have limited expansion potential. The analysis identified specific high-capacity systems including Deer Creek Water Association north of Bellingham, Glacier Water District, Point Roberts, and Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District's South Shore system, though the latter falls within the environmentally sensitive Lake Whatcom Overlay District.
**Comprehensive Planning Integration:** The water system analysis directly supports the county's comprehensive plan…
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**Justin Clary, Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District/WUCC Chair:** Emphasized the deliberate timing of the water plan update ahead of comprehensive planning to inform land use decisions based on water resource availability. Stressed the importance of spatial distribution of water capacity, not just total numbers.
**Andrew Dunn, RH2 Engineering:** Highlighted the distinction between water system service areas and actual capacity to serve new connections. Noted that unspecified connection systems have self-regulation capability but must demonstrate adequate infrastructure and water rights.
**Michele Campbell, RH2 Engineering:** Outlined major challenges including Nooksack River adjudication uncertainty, potential changes to permit-exe…
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**Justin Clary, on water planning strategy:**
"The county was very deliberate in this periodic update to the coordinated water system plan in identifying where water resources are, as well as where in other terms, they aren't ahead of the land use development process of the update to the comprehensive plan to help inform you as the land use authority, where growth makes most sense to occur in the county based on a water resource perspective."
**Andrew Dunn, on water system reality:**
"This map…
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**July 22, 2025:** Public hearing on the Coordinated Water System Plan **June 2025:** Healthy Children's Fund presentation to full Council featuring in-home care provider support and draft 2026-27 implementation plan **Summer 2025:** Additional work sessions on water system planning and food access policy **End of 2025:** Expected adoption o…
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The county initiated formal public comment on the coordinated water system plan, establishing a concrete timeline for adoption by year-end. The analysis provides specific connection capacity numbers (3,335 rural connections) that will directly inform comprehensive plan growth allocation decisions. The Healthy Children's Fund launched a comprehensive transparency initia…
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# Whatcom County Public Works & Health Committee — Navigating Water Rights and Children's Services
On a Tuesday morning in late May, Whatcom County's Public Works and Health Committee convened for what would prove to be a substantive examination of two critical county services: the complex web of water systems that serve the region and the innovative Healthy Children's Fund that supports families with young children. The hybrid meeting, chaired by Councilmember Jon Scanlon, brought together technical experts, county staff, and elected officials to grapple with fundamental questions about how the county manages essential services and plans for future growth.
The meeting carried particular weight as both presentations directly fed into broader policy discussions — the water system plan would inform the upcoming comprehensive plan update, while the children's fund continued to evolve as a groundbreaking investment in early childhood services. What emerged was a detailed picture of how local government works to balance technical requirements, community needs, and long-term planning in an era of growth and change.
## The Coordinated Water System Plan — Mapping Future Growth
The morning's first major item was a presentation of the preliminary draft of the Coordinated Water System Plan, a comprehensive document that will help guide where and how growth occurs in Whatcom County. Sue Sullivan from Health and Community Services introduced the work, emphasizing that this update was deliberately timed to precede the comprehensive plan update — a strategic decision to ensure water capacity would inform land use planning, rather than the other way around.
"We were pretty intentional this time and completing the C.W.S.P. ahead of the comprehensive plan update," Sullivan explained. "This C.W.S.P. uses more recent population projections and allocations and it really presents a significant piece of the larger resource and growth management strategy for the county's future."
The plan update, which began in late 2023, represented a collaborative effort involving the Water Utility Coordinating Committee (WUCC), county departments, and RH2 Engineering. Justin Clary, general manager of Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District and chair of the WUCC, explained that the committee comprises all water systems with 50 or more connections, along with input from smaller systems, county departments, the state Department of Health, and tribal representatives.
### Capacity vs. Service …
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### Meeting Overview
The Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee met on May 27, 2025, to receive presentations on two major county initiatives: an update to the Coordinated Water System Plan and progress on the Healthy Children's Fund. The committee focused on how water system capacity affects future growth planning and comprehensive plan updates.
### Key Terms and Concepts
**Coordinated Water System Plan (CWSP):** A county-wide plan identifying current and future needs of water systems and how they can share resources, required under state law for counties with multiple water providers.
**Water Utility Coordinating Committee (WUCC):** Committee comprised of all water systems in Whatcom County with 50 or more connections, responsible for developing and updating the coordinated water system plan.
**Urban Growth Area (UGA):** Designated areas where urban development is encouraged and where cities can expand in the future, as defined in the comprehensive plan.
**Group A Water Systems:** Larger public water systems serving 15 or more connections or 25 or more people for 60 or more days per year.
**Unspecified Connections:** A designation from the Washington State Department of Health allowing water systems to self-regulate the number of connections they can serve, based on their capacity to provide adequate service.
**Critical Water Supply Service Area (CWSSA):** The area of Whatcom County west of the national forest boundary, excluding tribal lands, where most public water systems are located.
**Permit Exempt Wells:** Private wells that don't require permits under certain conditions, often used in rural areas where public water systems aren't available.
**Healthy Children's Fund:** A county program funded by a property tax levy to support services for children ages 0-5 and their families.
### Key People at This Meeting
| Name | Role / Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Jon Scanlon | Committee Chair, Councilmember |
| Mark Stremler | Committee Member, Councilmember |
| Todd Donovan | Councilmember (attending) |
| Sue Sullivan | Health and Community Services Director |
| Justin Clary | Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer Distric…
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