| Contact
Us |
| Whatcom County Health Department
Drinking Water Program, Environmental Health Division
Phone: (360) 676-6724
E-mail: Environmental
Health
|
|
|
| Drinking
Water Program |
About the Drinking Water Program
The drinking water program staff
help to prevent water related illness. They also help to assure that people in Whatcom County
have access to an adequate quantity of safe water. They
do this through the following activities
- Reviewing and approving Water Availability for single
family, 2-party, plat and public water for new building
permits.
- Reviewing and approving Water Availability for contaminated
wells and surface water sources.
- Investigating suspected
water related illnesses.
- Maintaining an extensive drinking
water database for over 3000 wells drilled in Whatcom County
since 1990. The
database includes information on both water quality and
quantity and helps staff to identify areas of concern.
- Updating Drinking Water Geographic Information System
(GIS) maps & databases.
- Researching and recognizing
Public Drinking Water System Wellhead Protection Areas
for land use decisions via GIS.
- Reviewing plans and providing
oversight/compliance for small (Group B) public water supplies.
- Providing community education and answering questions
about safe drinking water.
- Researching complaints from
public and private water systems, non-illness related.
- Updating the Coordinated Water System Plan.
- Inspecting
wells for home loans.
- Inspecting well seals during the
drilling process in cooperation with the Department of
Ecology & well drillers.
- Tagging wells in coordination
with the Department of Ecology.
- Conducting Sanitary Surveys
for Group A & B Public
Water Systems.
- Planning for surface water problems (i.e.
Lake Samish Blue-Green Algae).
- Conducting well site inspections
for public water systems in cooperation with the Department
of Health.
- Conducting well site inspections for all 2-Party
and any plat wells during the initial plat/building permit
process.
- Reviewing variance and appeal requests.
- Reviewing conditional use permits & binding site
plans.
- Responding to emergencies (i.e. fuel spills)
|
|
