Greetings Friends and Neighbors of the Burton Water Cooperative,

We are pleased to send along some Burton Water Cooperative updates and progress notes.  Work has been underway on several fronts. Take a look...

Water System Plan Update

We received approval from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) on September 16th for our Water System Plan update. This approval gets us up to date with documentation of our system’s current capacity as well as planned changes to the system with upcoming projects. The updated Water System Plan, and the accompanying Chlorination System Upgrade Project Report (also approved), are key milestones towards our planned system improvement projects.

2026 Co-op Funded Projects

The approved project report for our chlorination system and north tank upgrade allows us to move ahead with a key internally funded project.  This project will bring us into full compliance with current DOH chlorination requirements and eliminate leaks in the north tank.  Construction planning is underway and we expect work to begin in early 2026. Other Co-op funded distribution pipe replacement projects are under consideration. In particular, a short length of main trunk-line pipe from the wellfield source area to 115th is being considered for replacement in coordination with the USDA-funded distribution system improvement project.

USDA Funded Projects

We have prepared the final package of construction plans and specification documents required by the USDA for our distribution pipe upgrade project. The construction documents have been approved by USDA and we are just waiting to receive our construction permit from King County in order to receive USDA’s approval to advertise for contractor bids to complete the work. We’re coordinating with the County for our construction permit. As of right now, we expect construction on this project to start in the summer of 2026. We will provide a more detailed anticipated schedule when we have more certainty on the construction start date.

King County Right of Way Franchise

The Co-op (like all utilities) needs a franchise agreement from King County for the Co-op water lines in the County right of way.  The King County Franchise Management Division formally accepted our franchise application on October 20th.  We are working with them to clarify construction bonding requirements to allow us to proceed with our USDA-funded construction project while the franchise agreement is negotiated.  King County is able to issue the necessary construction permits prior to franchise agreement execution. The franchise agreement will be a long-term document outlining our rights and responsibilities for using the County’s right-of-way. Part of the agreement will include a negotiated annual franchise fee.

Distribution Line Location Update

We have begun gathering GPS location data for our existing water lines (an upgrade from and supplement to the hard copy maps we inherited).  King County requires pipe location data as one requirement of our Franchise Agreement.  A benefit for the community is that the fire hydrant locations can be passed along to VIFR to aid them in emergency response.

Welcome Scott Ingalls

Scott Ingalls - community and Co-op member - is a new part-time employee assisting Nick and Morgan. Once the USDA-funded project construction gets underway Nick will be busy monitoring the construction projects and Scott can fill in. He is currently helping with the GPS project as he has expertise in this area. Scott also has flexible availability. We’re glad to have his help.

Fire Hydrant Update

Installation of additional fire hydrants is planned as we complete each segment of pipe replacement in the USDA funded projects, to meet state and county guidelines.

Winterize Your Pipes

Helpful information on winterizing pipes can be found here.

Payment Instructions for Harbor Mercantile

Please drop your check or cash (with account # in the memo field or bill stub) in the lockbox just past the postcards on your left as you walk in the store. The person at the counter can provide assistance if needed. Be careful to place your payment in the locked slot and not in the hanger opening close to the wall.

Seeking New Board Members

Current Board member Helene Miller has decided to step down from her position. We thank Helene for her time and efforts on the Board during the Co-op’s critical first year of operation. We also have another board member whose term will expire in March. The Board is now looking for new board member candidates. Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in being considered to become a board member or would like to find out more information about serving our community in this vital role.

Join Us!

We always welcome new perspectives and expertise and are looking for volunteers for the Membership/Communications, Finance, and Technical committees, as well as for the Board as noted above. 

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

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