In December 2017, the Whatcom County Council established the Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility Service Area (Ordinance 2017-076) to provide a mechanism to fund efforts to clean up and protect Lake Whatcom.  They stated that existing funding sources are not sufficient to meet current and future Lake Whatcom program needs to comply with the state-mandated reductions in phosphorus to meet federal Clean Water Act requirements. The Service Area includes the entire unincorporated Lake Whatcom watershed.

A citizen advisory committee was selected by Whatcom County Council on May 8, 2018.  The committee will represent rate payers in the Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility Service Area and advise Whatcom County Public Works staff and the Whatcom County Council on recommended rate structure options and a funding mechanism.

The Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility Advisory Committee has 5 positions.  The four geographic representatives are Todd Citron, Thomas Dales, Harry (Skip) Johnsen, and Nathaniel Washington. The Sudden Valley Community Association representative is Larry Brown.

It is vital that Sudden Valley be part of the process to craft this agreement. The Association already spends a significant amount of money on watershed protection. Our participation in this committee will ensure that Sudden Valley’s portion of the new fee accurately takes into account its past and existing expenditures on behalf of all Association Members directly related to protection of the lake.

Information on committee meetings, which will be open to anyone who wants to attend, will be posted on the Whatcom County website and the Sudden Valley website as they are scheduled. The first committee meeting is scheduled for June 6 from 4 to 6pm at the Geneva Fire Station. A final report is expected to be published in 2019.