Whidbey Island Water Systems Assocation hosts quarterly Member Meetings which are open to the public. Typically the Member Meetings are held in March, June, September and December, with the December meeting designated as the Annual Meeting for budget approval, director elections and other formal business. Only WIWSA members are able to vote on motions at the quarterly and annual meeting.
Other upcoming Events will be included here, both those sponsored by WIWSA or our partners, or other community events that might be of interest to WIWSA members.
Upcoming Events
Attend Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply Open House on June 3rd
The Department of Ecology invites you to review the documents describing the cleanup of the Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply site in Freeland. The principal issue is contamination of groundwater below the site, and Ecology is requesting public comments through June 20, 2025 on the proposed alternatives.
You are also invited to attend an open house at the site on June 3, 2025 from 4 to 6 pm at the site, or through zoom.
Read the full press release for all the details.
Q2 Member Meeting—June 17, 2025, 5 to 7 pm IN-PERSON or ZOOM
The Q2 Member Meeting will be held as a hybrid meeting on June 17, 2025, 5 pm to 7 pm. This means that we will be hosting an in-person meeting at the Coupeville Library (788 NW Alexander St, Coupeville, WA 98239) with a Zoom option for those that prefer to join virtually.
We hope to provide an introduction to Small Water System Planning at this meeting, along with a presentation on fire hydrant inspection and testing from Chief James Meek from Central Whidbey Fire. Meeting notices with the full agenda will be sent by email in early June to this subscriber list. Look for them in your inbox and hope to see you either at the Coupeville Library or on Zoom.
All subscribers to this newsletter will receive meeting notices including location and Zoom information for upcoming member meetings along with the planned agenda. If you are not currently on the email list, you can sign up here.
Recent Events
Reports from meetings or events that have been held recently. For less recent events, look further down under Meeting & Event Archives.
RECAP: Group B Meetup, April 22, 2025 5:30 to 7 pm
Thanks to everyone who attended the Group B Meetup last month, and special thanks to our speakers: Jeff Tasoff and Donna Keeler from Facet, Aneta Hupfauer from Island County and Brad Burnham from Department of Health. We had 20 people at the Coupeville Library and another 20 on Zoom, who together heard a presentation on the Coordinated Water System Plan and a briefing on legislative changes to the SMA requirements for Group B systems.
Throughout the meeting we had discussions in response to questions and issues raised, many of which are captured in the recap the WIWSA website. You can read the full recap here along with links to the video recording and information presented during the meeting.
Agenda, Video Recording, Presentation
RECAP: Q1 Member Meeting, March 20, 2025 5:00 to 7:00 PM
The Q1 Member Meeting was held on Zoom on March 20, 2025, 5 pm to 7 pm with 65 members and guests in attendance. This post includes a recap followed by links to the video recording, agenda and some additional materials at the bottom of this page. Note that the video recording was started after the meeting had begun but does include all of the featured topics starting with Chris Kelley’s update.
The meeting topics were kicked off with an update on the Coordinated Water System Plan from Chris Kelley, Island County Hydrogeologist. The CWSP was developed in 1990 to provide guidance for all county water systems, including minimum design standards and defining service areas for Group A water systems. Kelley mentioned that the plan hasn’t be revised since publication in 1990 so a study group was formed with a local engineering firm. The group will first determine what parts of the plan were in need of an update and to scope that work with the intention of presenting a recommendation to the County Commissioners for further action later this year. You can read an overview of the plan here or the full plan here.
Several insurance topics were covered in the meeting:
- Sarah Gooding from Island County Public Works presented on Public Works Franchises which are required for any water system which has water lines within a county road right-of-way. Sarah described what a franchise is, the application and renewal process, why there was a requirement for a certificate of liability insurance, the requirements for franchise holders and provided a list of planned 2025 roadwork projects that will affect some franchise holders. If you want to check on the roads within your water system’s service area where you may have water lines, you can use the ICGEOmap and then click on the roads to see if they are owned by the county.
- Morgan Carter from Tradewinds Insurance and Wendy Parsons from Parsons-Whidbey Insurance each presented a summary of the insurance options necessary and available to Group A and B water systems including General Liability, Property Coverage, Directors & Officers, Umbrella Liability and a more recent addition: Cyber Liability. You can find the contact information for both companies in a new Insurance section on our website at the bottom of the Services page. Tradewinds’ presentation materials are included here.
Ernie Klimek of Evergreen Rural Water of Washington was our final speaker for evening, He spoke about the Apprenticeship and QUEST programs both of which should be familiar to WIWSA members as the WIWSA scholarship is offered for these programs. The Apprenticeship program is a 2-year classroom training program for apprentices employed in water and wastewater service to gain their Level 2 certification. QUEST provides a 1-year program for anyone with a goal for Level 1 certification. Ernie also described a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for high school and trade school students interested in starting a career in water or wastewater service. This is still in the planning stage but should be launched this year. You can find more information on the Evergreen Rural Water website.
Meeting Recording (Video), Agenda & Minutes
Meeting & Event Archives
Browse the meeting archives which include all meeting agendas, minutes and reports along with some presentations that were included in those meetings.
All Member Meetings (2015-present) — All quarterly, special and annual member meetings since 2015.
Group B Meetups (2024-present) — New meetings with Group B water system board members and residential water users.
Community Events (2015-present) — Other events or meetings hosted by WIWSA, our partners or other community members.