By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
Among the 20 funding requests that U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen submitted to the House Appropriations Committee is $1.5 million to replace the aged and failing Channel Drive water line. About 100 residents in the Skagit Beach neighborhood north of La Conner rely on the line for drinking water.
During a meeting with Mayor Marna Hanneman and Town Administrator Scott Thomas last Thursday, Larsen said the actual amount to be earmarked is likely $803,000.
In total, he has requested $77 million to improve infrastructure, public safety and education in the 2nd Congressional District, and “create good-paying jobs,” according to information on his website.
The existing water line is 60 years old and failing. On Aug. 10, a 4-inch asbestos cement pipe broke in two points and left about 56 homes without water for nearly six hours.
During the meeting with Larsen, Hanneman and Thomas explained the water line is “inadequately sized,” as it was originally meant to serve a few dozen homes, and does not have enough fire hydrants for fire protection. While residential users are priority customers, the Town and the Skagit Beach Community Association previously expressed their interest in expanding service to more agricultural users.
In a contract signed with Skagit Beach developers in 1976, the Town agreed to sell the water and to maintain and repair the line, but not to replace it. But the group of developers eventually dissolved, and the Town assumed ownership of the line in 1993, as previously reported on La Conner Community News.
To spare the line customers from shouldering the costs of the estimated $3.4 million project (which would cost about $43,000 per connection), the Town will contribute $500,000 and has been looking for supplemental funds. This past spring, the state legislature approved the allocation of $515,000 for the project.
Thomas and Hanneman also shared their concerns about fire preparedness, mentioning the local fire departments’ limited capacity to address wildfires, and the need to “harden” residences and buildings, many of which are close together or attached, and made of wood. Larsen said he would “follow up” on that.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
