The first Group B meeting for 2026 was held on April 16, 2026 over Zoom with 13 Group B water systems represented and about 20 attendees all together. Michael Quintus, Whidbey Island Water Systems Assocation (WIWSA) board member led the meeting off with a review of the agenda and had attendees introduce themselves.
After Michael gave a brief recap of the previous three Group B Meetups in 2024 and 2025, Aneta Hupfauer and Tracy Hall spoke about Group B planning and introduced a streamlined template for Group B water systems to prepare a draft plan. There are links below to the presentation and the templates themselves.
Using the templates can serve as a basic water systems plan or as a draft of the basic information needed to start on a formal Small Water System Management Program (SWSMP). Eventually, it is expected that the documents will be accessible from the county’s Drinking Water webpage. In the meantime, you can ask for copies by emailing DrinkingWater@islandcountywa.gov with your request.
Next, Michael presented a review of Cook Water Supply Operations, an 8-connection Group B system in North Whidbey that he manages for his community. It’s a nicely designed and well-maintained system which includes 2 source wells along with filtering systems for both manganese and arsenic. A link to the presentation is also included below.
An open forum followed with questions on SMAs, booster pumps and filtering systems among other topics.
You can view the recording below or view the presentations yourself. If you want to be notified of future Group B meetings, be sure to register your email for meeting notices by subscribing to the newsletter and specify that you are on a Group B system.