Clinton Water Forum follow up report
On Saturday, March 13 we spent the day at the Clinton Community Hall learning about the critical issues surrounding our water. There were about 50 people in attendance for the morning sessions, including our county commissioner Helen Price Johnson, and our Port Commissioner Curt Gordon. I want to thank them both for attending, along with everyone else who participated, either as a presenter or one of the wonderful and thoughtful audience members.
We started the day with a fascinating presentation by Nancy Snow, Research and Communications Specialist with the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE). She gave a very accessible presentation on the dangers that lurk in our water including saltwater intrusion, metals and minerals, industrial chemicals, household chemicals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Click here for her lecture, which has invaluable links to a broad range of resources to find out what you can do to protect yourself and your environment from these hazardous dangers. This information is a must for every citizen of Whidbey Island.
Nancy was followed by a brief presentation by Justin Bailey, an Americorp volunteer with Service Education and Adventure, about our upcoming voyage on the SEA vessel Indigo. The winners of the drawing for the trip have been notified, but don't despair if you are on the wait list; we may still have a few more slots. We'll let you know.
A panel comprised of moderator Don Lee, Co-chairman of the Island County Water Resources Advisory Committee; panelists Aaron Henderson, Environmental Health Director Island County Public Health; Maury Hood, Commissioner Clinton Water District; and Doug Kelly, Senior Hydrogeologist Pacific Groundwater Group, was up next. The panel was highly educational, including the fact that groundwater can travel very slowly depending on the permeability of the surface, so that what we put into our water today can be a contaminant for our great grandchildren. Those with wells should have them tested annually. And anyone with an older well in particularly should have them tested since prior to 1977 there were no reporting requirements for wells on Whidbey Island. And just to set the record straight - ALL of our water on Whidbey comes from rain recharge. The audience asked wonderful, intelligent and insightful questions and the hour and a half went by incredibly quickly. I did record the morning's proceedings and if there's interest I could post them on the CPA website.
A delicious sack lunch was provided by Whidbey Island Nourishes as a fundraiser, and we raised $156.00 for WIN. Lunch was also a great time for discussing what we had learned during the morning.
The afternoon sessions were spent taking all the facts we heard in the morning and learning practical solutions to cleaning up our water. We started with Anza Muenchow, farmer, educator, food activist and the current president of South Whidbey Tilth. We got valuable information on how to compost by layering our green and brown layers and how and why to keep hazardous chemicals out of our gardens. Tilth offers classes as well as a Saturday farmers market. They are wonderful advocates for gardening without chemical additives. Remember, just like water, what goes into our gardens goes into our bodies and goes into Puget Sound.
Stacy Smith, Natural Resource Planner, Whidbey Island Conservation District talked to us about the importance of rain gardens in helping to keep run-off from non-permeable surfaces out of the Sound. Parking lots are particularly problematic since all toxins that come off of our cars are washed from parking lots and streets down to the Sound. At the Clinton Community Hall we have a very large parking lot so it is a perfect candidate for a rain garden. We're very excited about working with Stacy and our landscape team headed by Jack Lynch to implement a rain garden plan for the Hall. Earmarked contributions have started coming in to support it and if you would like to contribute to the fund, our contact information is on the CPA website.
Finally, Janet Hall, WSU Island County Extension Waste Wise Coordinator, led us in a workshop on how to make our own clean and safe household cleaning products. We all left with a bucket filled with extremely affordable and healthy products to use in our homes. Janet has lots of wonderful information available, including recipes for these products. Check her website for many resources.
If you attended the forum, we truly appreciate your time and energy toward making our wonderful island and the water that surrounds it a healthy place for all of us to live. And if you didn't return your feedback form, please mail to the CPA; we need those as part of our reporting process for the very generous grant we received from the Puget Sound Partnership. What's critical is that we all take what we learned and share it with our friends and neighbors. Those of us who attended need to spread the word. There are lots of excellent facts about what people can do to make a difference on the Puget Sound Starts Here website.
Remember: everything that goes into our water goes into us and into Puget Sound. Let's all be responsible for taking care ourselves and the environment. It's worth the effort. We live in a beautiful place let's all work to keep it that way!
Carol Flax, Clinton Progressive Association, Water Forum Chair
: schedule and bios of presenters : : download the flyer : : download press release :
: download Puget Sound Starts Here information card : : go to Puget Sound Starts Here website :
This event is supported by a grant from Puget Sound Partnership