“Drinking water suppliers now provide reports (sometimes called consumer confidence reports) that tell where drinking water comes from, and what contaminants may be in it.
* Read your water quality report if it is online, or
* contact your water supplier to get a copy.
Local information, such as contacts, case studies, and more on source water protection for your state can be found here .
To view the information about your drinking water supplier that is in EPA’s database, please visit the Envirofacts page on your state.
* Envirofacts data on Washington
The Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW), together with states, tribes, and its many partners, protects public health by ensuring safe drinking water and protecting ground water. OGWDW, along with EPA’s ten regional drinking water programs, oversees implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is the national law safeguarding tap water in America,” quoting the EPA.
Hopefully, this information will give the citizens of Yelm the motivation to get their city’s water supply listed as public documents on these sites.
WHAT SAY YOU?
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2 comments
Gee, that is an excellent idea…
I thought that it was mandatory for cities to report about the water quality — at least that’s what I recall as a designer a few years back designing Lacey and Olympia’s reports.
Hi Steve –
I’m not sure this fits here but I’ll try. I lived in Seattle in late l960’s. I was young and belonged to League of Women Voters when Dan Evans was Governor. I lived in his neighborhood. They were Republican Party and very environmental. It was a battle but they were able to bring the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) into law. I think during that time areas of Western Washington, Yelm inclued, were declared wetlands, not to be developed.
Fast forward to early l990’s. I heard Yelm was planning to build a sewage system about 2 blocks from my house. I’m County. I stopped at City Hall to inquire. Mrs. Wolf was mayor. Shelly was there, a couple of Planners and some Staff. This is a little off my topic: In my opinion, Shelly is a very good City Administrator and much of what makes Yelm attractive is due to her good effort. The Mayor is “The Boss” and elected by the voters.
Back to my story – The City had been obliged to stop using River for sewage disposal. They tried to get a sewage plant that would meet State standards but failed. I think Yelm could not afford cost. They joined with other areas in Western Washington to get wetland status removed and did, to make way for development I guess. Governor Locke approved but did not finance sewage. The Planner gave me a couple of boxes of studies to read. There were plans to store sewage above ground.
Fast forward to early 2000’s. Things have changed. We have eminent domain, debt to China, development in Yelm, slump in housing, gas prices and God knows what but we still have some State Law.
What I’m getting to is how can we have a sewage system that protects water quality when LASCO is on a septic system? What else is on septic? Yelm had good water when it was taken from releasing sewage into the River.
From Council meetings I have attended thru the years, my understanding is that Yelm has 3 wells and none of them meet public health standards. There have been a number of costly studies but I have never heard any solution discussed.
It’s a Catch 22. The EIS requires water, sewer, roads and cost and as I read it, Yelm has none. This Development is a serious problem for City Government, Yelm Residents and all of Thurston County. I hope it can be resolved.
I really appreciate you have stayed with this.
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