Agreements Keep Artesian Well Open
Released jointly by the City of Olympia and Thurston Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1
Olympia, WA. Tuesday evening the Olympia City Council and Thurston Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1 Board of Commissioners took action to ensure continued community access to an artesian well in downtown Olympia.
On November 5, 2008, the Friends of the Artesians, a local community group that has graciously supported artesian wells since 1996, announced that they were disbanding and would no longer pay for testing the water at the artesian well owned by Diamond Parking Service, located at their 4th Avenue Parking Lot in downtown Olympia. This cast a cloud over the public's access and ability to obtain drinking water from this privately owned artesian well which hundreds of individuals visit daily.
In response, the City of Olympia and Thurston PUD came together for the common purpose of ensuring the continued public access to the well. The City of Olympia offered to pay for water sampling costs and Thurston PUD stepped forward to donate its services to manage the water system. Diamond Parking Service, the owner of the well, worked cooperatively throughout this process with the City and PUD.
"This solution is a win-win for the people of Thurston County. Olympia couldn't do it without help from Thurston PUD. Thurston PUD couldn't do it without help from Olympia. This is an example of cooperative problem solving at its best." notes Thurston PUD President Alan Corwin.
Joan Machlis, Olympia City Councilmember, highlights "For years, like so many others, I have enjoyed getting water from the downtown artesian well. I'm pleased that Olympia, Thurston PUD and Diamond Parking have found a way to keep the well open to the public."
The well will remain open to serve the public while efforts continue towards the development of a new well. A new group, H2Oly: Artesian Well Advocates, has emerged as a grassroots coalition to promote a new community artesian well. While the current well continues to meet drinking water quality standards, the well is old and doesn't meet current design standards. As a result, supporters are working to drill a new well in a permanent location downtown. The City and PUD will work with H2Oly: Artesian Well Advocates, as well as state and county health officials, towards development of a new well.
Released jointly by the City of Olympia and Thurston Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1
Release Date:
February 25, 2008
Contacts:
Alan M. Corwin, Commissioner, Thurston PUD No. 1,
Phone: 360.456.1007
Paul Pickett, Commissioner, Thurston PUD No. 1,
Phone: 360.943.5791
Rich Hoey, Director of Water Resources, City of Olympia,
Phone: 360.753.8495
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