Mistakes were made, a water battle looms

By Marianne Lincoln In 1931, Pierce County Drainage District 20 built a ditch. This ditch drained the farms to the west of 47th Avenue between 128th Street and 112th Street. At the time, the really wasn’t a 47th Avenue, but the LaForge Farm was there since 1915 along with the Andre Farm to the North…

House demolition, but no silt fence

By Marianne Lincoln Spanaway is watching. There is already a high level of concern about how the Tiny Home Village project was dropped on our community. There are lawyers being paid to defend the interests of people living on the lake self-taxing to improve water quality. Then this project comes along and threatens to make…

PSM-LUAC Nov. 15, 6:30pm, Sprinker !!

By Cindy Beckett This will be heard at the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Advisory Commission public meeting date is November 15, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at Sprinker Recreation Center. (Remember, you will hike a distance to get in from parking due to construction right now.)  The Land Use Advisory Commission will be reviewing the homeless village project now labeled…

To the last drop

Editorial: Marianne Lincoln When you elect a developer, to the position of County Executive, what do you get? First, it was the “City of Pierce” proposal to take the unincorporated part of mid-Pierce County and turn it into a high-density rectangular race-track of high-rise housing, 2016. The communities affected were so ticked off they formed…

Letter: Waughop Lake’s Demise Assured

By Don Russell, Lakewood A Significant and Questionable EventOn May 4, 2023 the City of Lakewood requested proposals for professional services from qualified contractors for the purpose of an alum treatment for algae control in Waughop Lake. The alum treatment prescribed in this RFP is for the application of aluminum sulfate (alum) and sodium aluminate. …

Pierce County needs to use more caution with our water resources

By Cindy BeckettEPA certified Watershed Manager, WSU certified Master Watershed Steward Why are we still losing our water resources in this county?  “They” claim we must build housing fast enough to meet the need – to be precise, our share of the claimed 1.1 million homes the State says we (all counties together) need to add in the next 20 years, according…

Local water – Guest editorial

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…

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…

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…