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<br />From: Stephen Holmes <br />Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 7:06 AM <br />Subject: Reclaimed Water | Sequim, WA <br />To: Ramzi Mansour <br />Cc: Richard (Rick) Bennett, Kate Logan, Dee Fulton, Rick Gaffney, Georjean Adams, Jeff Zimpfer <br /> <br /> <br />Ramzi: <br />I bought a home recently for my daughter in Sequim Washington which has a population of only 8,000. <br />Two water recycling facilities. One is private and the other operated by the City of Sequim. See link here. <br />https://www.sequimwa.gov/353/Reclaimed-Water <br /> <br />Here is a water feature in the park nearby. <br /> <br /> <br />All the ballfields and grounds use recycled water. Even the toilets in the restroom use recycled water. <br /> <br />Sequim is largely a retirement community with modest well priced housing, yet they have seen the <br />wisdom of water recycling and pulled it off in style. <br /> <br />Hopefully, we can end the use of injection wells and the sump at Kealakehe that pollutes our <br />recreational coastal waters in favor of water recycling. The EMC has set the policy and water recycling <br />pays for itself by generating revenue. We can do this. <br /> <br />The County faces considerable legal exposure with the sump discharges now that the U.S. Supreme <br />Court has affirmed the need for an NPDES permit. The science is clear that there is a direct hydrologic <br />connection from the sump to impaired coastal waters. <br /> <br />DOBOR is moving on connecting Honokohau Harbor and securing federal funds, but this will add even <br />more flows to Kealakehe and make the situation worse. They will need to do a federal environmental <br />review and this will certainly come up as an issue. Other projects in the service area like the housing <br />project up Hina Lani will be bringing increasing flows to Kealakehe in the near future. While the current <br />engineering plan was bonkers, somehow we need a path forward and soon. <br /> <br />Mayor Roth has announced sustainability as a County priority and with federal and private funding <br />opportunities, now is the time to end decades of pollution while addressing climate resilience through <br />water recycling. <br /> <br />I know you understand the challenge. If tiny towns like Sequim can pull this off, so can we with your <br />leadership and engineering skills. <br /> <br />Feel free to call on me to assist in any way I can. <br /> <br />Steve Holmes <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />