Water

The City of White Salmon owns and operates a municipal water system (Washington State Department of Health [DOH] Identification No. 96350) that provides water service to residents inside and outside of the city limits. Domestic water service has been provided to the White Salmon area since the early 1900s.

System History

The water system was privately owned until the 1930s, when the City purchased all water rights and system facilities and commenced operation and maintenance (O&M) of the system. The water system’s original water source was Jewett Springs, which is adjacent to Jewett Creek. Water rights for Buck Creek were obtained and it was used exclusively for more than 80 years, until 1999, when Cryptosporidium oocysts, Giardia lamblia cysts, fecal coliform, and fecalstreptococcus were discovered in the unfiltered creek water. A boil water order was instituted and remained in place until 2000 when the first of two groundwater wells, Well No. 1, was placed into service. The Buck Creek water source was then taken out of service and considered an emergency backup source. The second groundwater well, Well No. 2, was completed in 2002. By 2006, water levels and pumping volumes in the wells were dropping over time, and the City was withdrawing more water than allowed by its water rights. The City subsequently enacted a moratorium for new users and considered developing a new source. After reviewing possible sources, the City chose to install a slow sand filter plant on the Buck Creek source to provide long-term potable water needs for the area. With the operation of the Nathan Wellman Memorial slow sand filter plant (Buck Creek water treatment plant [WTP]) and the acquisition of a new water rights permit from the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), the moratorium for new users was lifted in 2011.

System Funding

Water and sewer rates provide for the following:

System Modernization

In 2023, the city will start Phase I of the 14-inch Transmission Main Replacement Project. This project is funded with a grant and loan package from USDA Rural Development. The City will also be undertaking the Spring Street Booster Pump project to provide for additional capacity in the water system; this project is made possible by a loan from the Washington State Public Works Board. These projects are part of a total of $32M in planned and proposed modernization projects to the water system over the next 20 years.