By Cindy BeckettEPA certified Watershed Manager Response to Water, water isn’t always everywhere, there’s nary a drop to drink The loss of fresh water in our county has reached dangerous, irretrievable levels. Nothing can live without water – nothing. Believe it or not, even rocks require water or they turn to sand. Yet much of our…
Category: Utilities
Water, water isn’t always everywhere, there’s nary a drop to drink
By Marianne Lincoln Land use planning meets sole source aquifer and the fight is on The Pierce County communities of Midland, Summit, Waller, Parkland Spanaway Frederickson, Graham, Elk Plain and South Hill along with Lakewood and University Place have one thing in common, they sit on a sole source aquifer. That means, their only supply…
Before the March 21 meeting to approve a large homeless micro-village in the wetlands near Spanaway Lake…
By Marianne Lincoln Act before, not just at, the meeting, Write to your councilmember; write to all of them. If you think it is a bad idea to tear down trees shading a large Federal wetland that feeds into Spanaway Lake, Coffee Creek, Spanaway Creek, Morey Creek, Clover Creek, Chambers Creek, Chambers Bay and then…
Bolt out of the blue – Boom!
By Marianne Lincoln It was late evening, January 18, 2023. Connie Wilbur was sitting in her rec room recliner when, “Boom!” the sound of an explosion ripped through the room. The power went off, so she grabbed a flashlight and a coat and took a look outside. Things looked basically normal, but in the daylight,…
Crisis for critical Spanaway watershed
By Marianne Lincoln The chatter in environmental circles is intense. The concern is removal of a large number of huge trees and the ensuing ground heat on the watershed entering Spanaway Lake from the marsh and streams to the southwest of it. Impervious surface and water system pollution are the concerns. The Tiny Home Village…
Comments by County Reviewers of the Tiny Homes Project in Spanaway
[Editor: This is information from the project site at Planning and Land Services and these are comments by County employees who are moving the project along as part of their jobs. Those of you who may want to make public comments, may find some of their comments useful information from which to ask questions.] Reviewer…
9:30 a.m. January 3, Planning Commission meeting on Spanaway Tiny Home Village Zoning Change
Yes, maybe you got a post card about the meeting 1/3/23, at Sprinker at 7p.m., where the County will tell you what they did after the fact. But better yet, get to this Special Meeting of the Pierce County Planning Commission earlier in the same day at the Annex, 2401 S. 35th St. Tacoma, WA…
Parkland area sewer closures
From Pierce County Planning and Public Works:C Street South between Tule Lake Road and 128th Street to close Aug. 29 Work on C Street South between Tule Lake Road and 128th Street South (Section B) will resume on Monday, Aug. 29. The contractor working for Pierce County on the Parkland/Brookdale Sewer Interceptor Phase 3 project suspended work for…
Stream activist lament
Opinion By Don Russell [Acronyms defined at the end of the article] Derek and Janet, I am now 92 years old and don’t have much time left. I have witnessed, photo documented, water quantity and water quality monitored, written numerous papers on the condition of the CCSS watershed, prescribed the actions necessary to restore the…
Common Enemy Doctrine, Water law
Anyone who lives along a lake, river creek or stream needs to be aware of these laws regarding waterways. Currens v. Sleek,, September 9, 1999, Case No. 66830-2, Washington State Supreme Court determined that liability exists for anyone who causes damage to another’s property by increasing surface water flow onto that other property without exercising…
SEPA – when it really matters, or does it?
By Marianne Lincoln [Podcast link] [Editor Update: [Editor Update: Wetland Variance, Tommy’s Carwash, Application Number: 979272Related Application Numbers: 958554 and 975551Tax Parcel Numbers: 0319121055, 0319121057 and 0319121058Examiner’s Hearing: March 30, 2022, at 9 A.M., at the Pierce County Public Services Building,South Entrance, Public Meeting Room, 2401 South 35th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409.] SEPA is an…
The Clean Water Act and your water
The Clean Water Act’s (CWA) goal is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. The term, TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) will appear throughout this article. Other important Congressional Acts are the SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act) and the Sole Source Aquifer Program (SSA) of the EPA (Environmental…
Pierce Prairie Post 