Greetings Friends and Neighbors of the Burton Water Cooperative,

We have some important updates for you.  Please take a look!. Any of your friends or neighbors in the community who wish to be included on our newsletter mailing list can sign up here.

Community Fund

The Burton Water Community Fund (BWCF) was created to help Co-op members who experience financial challenges. Many thanks to those who contributed! The fund is currently assisting 7 neighbors on an ongoing basis.

The program is funded by donations from other community members, either in recurring donations of $5 or $10 added to your bi-monthly bill, or through one-time donations.  Although the fund has remained solvent, due to generous one-time donations, we currently do not have enough recurring donations to assure long term stability. Without additional donations, we will run short of funds by the end of the year. If you can afford to help, please sign up here on our website to contribute.

Water System Plan Update

The draft plan was reviewed by both Washington State Department of Health (WDOH) and King County Utilities Technical Review Committee (UTRC). We received comments from both entities and incorporated responses to those comments into a final version of the Plan for final approval. King County UTRC has provided final approval and we're expecting WDOH's final approval soon.

High Usage = Higher Water Bills

As part of our Water Use Efficiency Plan mandated by the state, we created additional rate tiers for higher water usage to encourage water conservation when we established our rate tables last year. While usage rates have not changed since we began operations, heavy water users during summer months may notice much higher water bills. Tips to conserve water are available here on our website. Usage rates are listed here.

Status Of USDA Funding

To date, our local contacts at USDA have assured us that the funds for our construction projects are approved and will be distributed to us as promised when the projects are complete. We (and our USDA partners) continue to watch the news for any changes as we consider possible backup plans. We will need to make a final go/no-go decision before the construction contract is awarded.

USDA-Funded Capital Improvement Project

We have received approval from USDA for the plans and specifications for the contractor bid package. We are in the final stages of getting approval from USDA to actually go out to bid. The last remaining items are to show the USDA that we have construction permits from the County, and  we've asked our engineer to request the County permit to account for our expected construction start date of late 2025.  We will also include documentation of the utility management and financial management trainings that Board members have attended. We anticipate going out for bid in the next few weeks.

Federal Single Annual Audit

Our first financial audit was completed, and we are happy to report that there were no negative findings and the audit was completed for $34,000 under budget! The Federal Single Audit is a US government requirement for any years that we receive federal funds in excess of $1,000,000. We were required to provide an audit for 2024 because of the USDA loan that was funded for the purchase of Burton Water. We anticipate one more audit for 2026 or 2027, when we receive funding for our USDA capital improvements loan.

Drainage Project

King County informed us recently that they are planning a storm water drainage improvement project along Vashon Highway (generally north of the yacht club) and have asked us to move and deepen our water main line to accommodate their planned storm water infrastructure improvements. This would be a significant cost to the Cooperative - that is not budgeted - so we are trying to learn more from the County and will be exploring ways to minimize our costs. We met with the County engineer on July 28th to discuss the project and inform them that the Cooperative doesn't have the funds to complete this unplanned utility modification.

Property Tax Exemption

After months of work, the Department of Revenue has finally approved our non-profit property tax exemption.  This was not just for the two parcels that make up the wellfield but also the improvement value of the lower water tank, which is on an easement.  While it is not a huge amount, it’s another way we are saving money as a co-op.

Fire Hydrant Clearance

Your Burton Water Cooperative has 18 fire hydrants serving our immediate area. These are also used by VIFR to fill tenders for firefighting for the entire area south and west of Burton. 

State and County law require the area around fire hydrants to be kept clear for 36" from the edge of the hydrant to ensure VIFR has unobstructed access to the hydrant in an emergency.  If you have a fire hydrant adjoining your property, please be a good neighbor and include this hydrant clearance in your landscape maintenance.  Contact our office if you need assistance in clearing around a hydrant adjacent to your property.

Thanks for reading, and let us know if you have questions! [email protected]

The Board:  Ben, Helene, Norm, Steve, and William