Proposed subdivision sparks fight over future of pristine spring in East Pierce County
When Bob Harding was elected to be commissioner of the Burnett Water District, he promised his predecessor three things: he wouldn’t chlorinate the water, he would keep water fees low and he would keep the town water as is.
Today, Harding says, a proposed subdivision just outside of Wilkeson is threatening his promise.
“I know in my heart it will affect this,” he said. “If they don’t destroy the spring, they will contaminate it.”
Earlier this year, a petition with more than 675 signatures was sent to the Town of Wilkeson opposing the construction of 74 homes off state Route 165 outside town. Concerned residents in the area previously told The News Tribune they worry about the impact to the environment and town if this development occurs.
The project is in its early stages, but trying to find a water source for the project has sparked discord between the Town of Wilkeson, the Burnett Water District and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
In May, Wilkeson agreed to work with the development company, Issaquah Squak Mountain Rv Park LLC to provide water pipes for the property in unincorporated Pierce County.
Kurt Erickson owns Issaquah Squak Mountain Rv Park LLC, according to Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer records. He did not respond for comment before publication.
Toyer Strategic Advisors has been involved in arranging the water agreement with Wilkeson. President David Toyer told The News Tribune the development is in early stages and design has not yet been finalized.
“We’re early on and evaluating what type of a project we might propose for a site,” he said. “Part of putting an application together and taking it through the process is to bring something in and meet the requirements. But then also items are raised to effectively take a look at those and respond accordingly.”
Regarding the public backlash, the developer’s consultant can understand the public’s questions.
“It’s fair for people to have questions, especially early on in the process, when there’s not a lot of information available yet,” Toyer said. “There’s opportunity for the public to comment ahead, when projects are under review.”
The Burnett Water District and the local health department say moving forward with the project will jeopardize the water supply for a neighboring area.
The Burnett Water District serves 103 people in 35 homes, Harding said. It was created in the 1930s to serve the former mining town of Burnett two miles outside Wilkeson. The community of Burnett has since become part of unincorporated Pierce County.
Harding has been the water district’s commissioner and operator for the last 48 years.
The Burnett Water District relies on groundwater from the Burnett Spring, which flows from Mount Rainier. Harding reports 700 gallons per minute flow through the 60-acre watershed. The groundwater sits between one and three meters below the topsoil.
The water does not require any added chemicals. The water and wastewater nonprofit, Evergreen Rural Water of Washington, ranked Burnett’s water the second cleanest in the state, Harding said.
The Burnett Spring surfaces from the ground through rivulets and streams that are pumped through a storage tank and into homes and businesses.
“It’s pure water,” Harding said. “I don’t add anything to it.”
The spring is located underneath a section of 387 acres where the proposed 74 homes would be built. Harding believes the water source would be affected by either construction, logging or the septic system from those homes.
If the subdivision is developed, Harding is sure it would impact the Burnett Spring.
“If that is built, it would contaminate or eliminate the water supply,” Harding said.
One of the health department’s on-site sewage and drinking water program managers, Leigh McIntire, agreed. She said there is public health concern that the proposed development could negatively affect the water and spring quality.
“Individual wells, new septic systems, as well as the number of lots proposed are potential negative effects,” McIntire said. “The size of any proposed development influences these concerns, and development infrastructure, including roads, stormwater systems, clearing and building site preparation could disturb groundwater movement to the source.”
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department issued a letter to the Burnett Water District in March, saying the developer has been made aware of potential impacts to the district’s water supply.
Harding said he was not approached about the project, despite the fact that it falls within his water district boundaries, according to maps by the Pierce County Auditor’s Office. Toyer said he has received information and heard Hardings’ concerns
Repeated efforts to develop
This isn’t the first time a developer has attempted to develop the area.
In 2005, development company Plum Creek tried to build a 19-unit housing development.
The Burnett Water District and the health department wrote letters to the county opposing the development, calling the district’s water source “extremely vulnerable to disturbance.”
The health department said in a letter that permits should be denied if the applicant could not provide evidence to Pierce County that the water would not be impacted by the development.
“The drinking water source for this water system is a shallow spring located just to the north of a concentration of 19 proposed lots…,” the 2005 letter said. “There is reason to believe that should this development proceed as planned, the source-water for this water system would be in jeopardy.”
Plum Creek sold the property in 2006, and no development occurred.
In 2008, TCS LLC and Calloway Land Development LLC also tried to develop a subdivision. The health department repeated its concerns in a similar letter to Pierce County.
The land was sold in 2014 in a sheriff’s sale, and the area remained undeveloped. Issaquah Squak Mountain Rv Park LLC bought the 387 acres of land later that year.
Toyer said he cannot speak to the work others have done.
“Obviously, there are standards in place. There are regulations and requirements that have to be met, for this or any other project,” he said.
Wilkeson’s water
The development’s design is contingent on its water source, Toyer said. The developer, Toyer said, is interested in converting 61 acres of the 387 purchased and “clustering,” the subdivision. A tighter development would leave much of the area untouched, but requires water lines rather than a well system in a sprawling neighborhood.
“The idea behind it is at the end of the day, there would be more of the space left, open space, and not as developed,” he said. “In order to start the process, we want to be able to see if we can get the water from the town of Wilkeson as a first step.”
The Town of Wilkeson Municipal Water System relies on streams and creeks from Mount Rainier on the hills east of the town as its water source, not the Burnett Spring that lies West of the town.
Wilkeson would need to extend its current water lines to reach the development.
Mayor Jeff Sellers did not respond to The News Tribune before publication.
The town’s water system has capacity for a total of 571 equivalent residential water connections, according to the town website. Currently, Wilkeson has 374 connections in use and 197 available connections able to be sold.
On April 1, the developer’s consultant asked the town for a letter indicating that water connections are available and the town is willing to sell and reserve connections for the developer, according to emails obtained by The News Tribune.
On April 7, Sellers asked staff, “So how do we proceed if we propose to sell them water without binding the Town to a total commitment right now?”
On April 15, Sellers sent a letter to the developer’s consultant saying the town has received a request for 74 water connections and there is available capacity for those connections, but the town is unable to provide water certificates until additional details were provided.
“I do want to reiterate that we do have the connections needed to fulfill this request and would be willing to sell them, be we can’t offer more at this time…,” Sellers said in the letter.
According to public records obtained from the Town of Wilkeson, the town estimates it would make $5,075 per connection, for a total of $375,550. The town also discussed an additional $7,000 to cover administrative costs for the connections in a June email exchange between city staff and consultants.
The town clerk, Marie Wellock, emailed town council member Mark Zumba on May 19 saying the town is not the only water supplier option, so as a town, it cannot stop the development of the land after he said he did not like the proposal.
Zumba shared his opposition to the proposed development in a May town council meeting, but did not immediately respond for comment.
“There is also Tacoma Water that could potentially be extended from Mundy Loss Rd to the plat so Wilkeson isn’t necessarily the deciding factor based on water availability alone,” she said to Zumba.
Next steps
Representatives of Issaquah Squak Mountain RV Park met with county staff last December, pitching a potential application for more than 70 homes, according to county records.
Pierce County said there are still many steps to complete before determining whether the development becomes permitted.
Pierce County has not received an application to develop the property and begin the permitting process. To move forward, the applicant would submit preliminary plat and environmental review applications, county spokesperson Tara Long said.
“If they do, surrounding property owners and the public will be notified using established notice procedures,” she said in an email. “Following review, an environmental determination regarding environmental impacts would be issued.”
A Pierce County hearing examiner then would hold a public hearing and make the decision on the proposed subdivision, Long said.
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
