Shoreline Issues - 12/22/10

3 Plus Miles of Shorelines in Illahee.  The Illahee Community has just over 3 miles of shoreline that runs from the north end of the Cheney Estates (or 30th Street) to University Point (see attached).

Changes Coming?  Kitsap County is currently in the middle of an effort to update their Shoreline Master Program (SMP), which is required by the State and is being funded by the Department of Ecology.  The update will effect communities and the shorelines of the county and will most likely affect the Illahee community.

"No Net Loss" Requirement.  One of the requirements of the state is that the county's SMP have the goal that there be "no net loss" of ecological functions.  This is one of the goals the Task Force (established to help advise the county) is working on, and will soon be looking at shoreline classifications.

Current Illahee SMP Classifications.  The current classifications of the shorelines in Illahee ranges from Conservancy to Rural to Semi-Rural (see second attachment). 

Task Force Meetings.  Monthly SMP Task Force meeting have been going on for some time and they will reportedly start discussing whether the current shoreline classifications should be changed.

Shoreline Inventory First.  Before the Task Force can start on classifications a Shoreline Inventory and Characterization (I&C) Report had to be submitted to the Planning Commission for its approval.  The I&C is a new product for the SMP and some have questioned both its intent and supposed lack of breadth (see link to Kitsap Sun article in a following paragraph).

I&C Report Size.  The I&C report covers all the marine beaches of Kitsap County by drift cell and further breakdowns the drift cells into "Nearshore Assessment Units" or NAUs    In other words a drift cell may have many AUs.  For example Illahee is part of drift cell 56, which runs from Manette to University Point (5.69 miles), and contains 17 NAUs.  With 228 miles of shorelines in Kitsap County the report is a massive nearly 500 pages.  The I&C report can be found online at the county's SMP website:  http://www.kitsapshoreline.org

Planning Commission Public Hearing.  The Planning Commission had a public hearing on the Inventory and Characterization (I&C) report on December 7, 2010 and is taking written comments until January 4, 2011.  The Kitsap Sun covered the meeting and the article can be read by clicking on the following link:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/dec/08/planning-commissioners-scrutinize-first-document/

Our Thoughts.  We have been part of the Task Force and also attended the public hearing.  Since the process is ongoing we are waiting to learn more and are reluctant to say much until we have completed the process and we have all the facts.  We do have some thoughts on the Inventory and Characterization report.  As with any new product it is a work in progress.  It is easy to document where the bulkheads, boat ramps, piers and floats are.  It is more difficult to document the biological diversity and ecological functions of shorelines, not to mention those beaches that are degraded or impaired.  In other words, there haven't been many studies that look at our individual beaches for the biological and ecological processes that are going on.  And further, the shoreline area is defined as 200' upland and 1000' waterward (intertidal), for a total of 1200' to be considered.  The I&C Report, nevertheless is a starting point, for looking at individual stretches of the shoreline.

What Next for Illahee?  We know we have at least two major degraded or impaired shoreline areas according to residents, due to stormwater runoff problems.  The Rue Villa beaches and the Illahee Creek area beaches have had excessive sedimentation from stormwater surges that have fouled local beaches and shellfish beds.  Only the community residents who have seen the 'before and after' differences can really note the damage.  Those long time residents need to be interviewed and the impaired areas need to be mapped so they can be included somewhere in the I&C Report.

SMP Presentation at Illahee Community Meeting.  Some who attended the Illahee Community meeting, where the county gave a presentation of the SMP Udate process, probably have a better understanding of what is going on.  This is a long process and the issues are extremely complex.  The county does have a good website where all this informaiton resides (which was noted earlier).  We anticipate there will be other area or community meetings where more information regarding shoreline classifications will be presented. 

Submit Comments on I&C Report.  In the meantime, it would be good for the Planning Commission to hear your comments regarding the I&C Report.  This is important because the document establishes the baseline for the "no net loss of ecological functions" requirement of the state.  

Jim Aho

Video / Store / Petition Info - 10/10/10

Filmmaker Selected to Tell Illahee Story.  We received an email on October 9th, that a filmmaker had been selected to prepare a film about Illahee and more specifically to cover the findings in the Illahee Creek Surface Water Management Plan.  The filmmaker is Shelly Solomon of Leaping Frog Films, who has worked in the area for a number of different groups, including the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, whose website contains some of her work http://www.restorationfund.org/news.php.  The film is part of public information and eduction task of the Dept of Ecology Surface Water Management Plan grant with the Port of Illahee that funded the Parametrix study that has been reported on earlier.  It was felt that few Illahee and county residents are aware that Illahee Creek is contributing to the pollution of Puget Sound because of unconstrained storm water, and that the fixes to resolve the problems are estimated to be $20 million.  Two films will be prepared, a short one, approximately 10 minutes, and a longer one, approximately 30 minutes.

Video Advisory Group Meeting Next Weekend.  A video advisory group is being assembled to help with the telling of the Illahee story, which includes covering a brief history of Illahee, and especially the changes to the area and shoreline resulting from the storm water surges.  Please tell us if you would like to help or could recommend people you think should be interviewed for the film.  We are looking at having a meeting next weekend, either on Saturday or Sunday afternoon (10/16 or 10/17).  We are pushing to get things started soon because the grant ends in 2011 and there isn't much time available to meet the deadlines.  Also, Shelly would like to see if anyone has some historical photos of the area that would be helpful.  Please respond if you can help by calling 479-1049 or reply to this email.   

Illahee Store Information.  In our last Update we noted that a number of you had asked about what was happening at the Illahee store with the recent cleanup.  We had a number of responses including one from the person doing the cleanup.  We have permission to attach her response, which follows:

My name is Judy Blank.  I've been an Illahee homeowner, (on Fern Ave NE), for 9 years.  Over the years I've become increasingly annoyed with the continual slovenly appearance and decay of the Illahee Store and property.  When I first moved here, the little store, while not particularly well kept even then, was at least a functioning business.  It is in a pivotal location and heralds the entrance to our neighborhood....setting the tone for our area's desirability or lack there of!  I would never have purchased my home in an area which had a slum property on the corner.....but that is what I ultimately have!  Last week I visited with Michael, a gentleman who's brother owned the property and had passed away some years ago.  It seems the property was allowed to fall into complete disrepair and neglect since then.  Michael gave me permission to go on the property and do some weed wacking and general tidying up.....which I promptly took advantage of and got out there and attacked some weeds and blackberry vines which were taking over the place.  After I had been out there working for a few hours, another Illahee resident, Jenifer Hillyer, pulled up and was curious about what I was doing.  I just told her I was fed up with the ugly eye sore in our neighborhood, (along with likely decrease in property values because of the mess), and that I had received permission from Michael to tidy things up.  She then offered to contribute to my efforts by having an acquaintance of hers bring his truck to haul the debris away!  I was very happy about her contribution and was very pleased to discover that indeed the debris piles were promptly removed.       So as far as I know....nothing else is going on with the property!  But I certainly would WELCOME & PARTICIPATE in any efforts of my community to help improve the look of this derelict property.  Would you know the current owner's name and address so I, (or better yet, WE), might write a letter pleading the case of our neighborhood's desire to have this property properly cared for?

Thank You Judy and Jenifer!  In response your (Judy's) question regarding the property, we have included the following information on the store along with a recommendation that something be done to resolve the issues you raised.

Illahee Store in the Foreclosure List Again.  We also had someone give us the 2010 Real Property Tax Foreclosure Roll that appeared in the legal section of the September 24th Kitsap News Group papers.  On the list again was the Illahee Store.  The store has had liens against it for years, and every year at the last minute, Flett Dairy Inc. has paid the taxes.  So the question for some, will the taxes be paid again? and if not will the store go up for auction?  One of the responses we received regarding the Illahee Store was the following from someone who was ready to purchase it a few years ago if it went to action.

As for the store - we obtained preliminary bid information and ran title and enviromental for the potential of a SDAP or redevelopment on the property.  The costs were staggering and the risk large for an individual so we moved on to some other projects that we have now completed. I personally am not interested in the property anymore but would be glad to share my files and information with someone who is serious about improving it.  Flett Dairy is really only protecting their lien by paying the taxes and doesn't do it until a day or two before the due day to prevent auction by the county.  Federal taxes and enviormental cleanup costs are the real snag to a new owner redeveloping it other than a public entity like the county or port who could conceivably leverage grant money and 'eminent domain' or 'public good' arguments to limit costs or payouts to third parties.

We think the above assessment is a good one and that it is time to form a group of interested citizens to work with the Port of Illahee and/or the Illahee Community Club to resolve the issues.

Port of Illahee Monitoring The Situation.  Those who attend the Port of Illahee monthly meetings are aware that the Port has been monitoring the situation for years and know they tried themselves and through their lawyer to investigate acquiring the property.

Illahee Petition Results.  We just received the latest results of the petition request to the Port of Illahee to do a number of things, including the most controversial, which is the request for the Port to raise taxes in order to possibly purchase the Timbers Edge development from the owner who approached the Port with an offer.  The Port had stated that if the community could get 500 residents to respond (the average number of voters in the last two elections) and if the response was favorable, the would CONSIDER the possibility of raising the Port tax rate.  The bad news is only 142 responses were mailed in, but the good news is that 93.7% were in favor of a tax increase to help Illahee Creek and to purchase the Timbers Edge properties.  It was felt that many did not vote because of the tax increase as Illahee petitions usually get a 25-40% response, and this time it was only 10%.  The Illahee Community Club is now hoping to work with the Port to find a land trust who could help, as was reported in the last Update.

Thank You For Your Responses!  Thank you to all those who respond to the items in these Updates!  An informed community makes for a better community.  And don't forget to let us know what you would like to see in an Illahee film.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous - 3/9/10

Saturday Rain Garden Planting.  On Saturday 21 volunteers from Illahee, and those with various connections to Illahee, showed up to plant 5 demonstration native plant rain garden plots at the Illahee Preserve Almira parking lot.

Botanist Aimee Weber Supervised The Planting.  The rain garden plot plantings were coordinated by Aimee Weber, a volunteer botanist with rain garden installation experience.  Aimee helped develop the plant order, picked up the plants, and worked with her plans and the plans of landscape architect Jenny Morgan and four Master Gardeners and the installing volunteers to come up with the final layouts.  She was one busy person trying to keep up with so many helpers and so many different plants going in so many different locations.

Earlier Plot Preparation.  Before the planting could begin, volunteer plants that were emerging from the rain garden area had to be transplanted, weeds had to be removed, and the plots had to be rake graded.  The plot designs were laid out earlier and the three paths separating four of the demonstration areas were covered with wood chips.  And prior to that Parks Department had the parking lot center area prepared with the amended soils required for rain gardens.  In other words there was lots of work that had to be done before the actual planting, by a number of different groups that was finally completed by the Saturday's volunteers.

Over 300 Native Plants Planted.  The number of native plants that were planted on Saturday numbered over 300, which included some sword ferns that came from the Illahee Preserve.  The number of different species is about 20.  Because of security issues the taller native species rain garden plants were not installed.  Note that there will likely be other native plant species eventually planted in the representative species plot at a later date.

Rain Garden Interpretive Signs Later.  Now that the Rain Garden is essentially complete the planning for the interpretive signs will begin.  There are eight interpretive signs being planned to describe and promote rain gardens for area residents.  

Demonstration Rain Garden Authorized by DOE/Port Grant.  The demonstration part of the rain garden is authorized as part of Port of Illahee/Department of Ecology grant Parametrix report that found bio-retention facilities (or rain gardens) would help both with storm water and aquifer issues.

Rain Garden Plots are Primarily for Illahee Residents.  The demonstration part of the rain gardens are installed primarily for Illahee residents.  There are two important reasons for informing residents of the need to consider installing rain gardens on their properties.

To Help Decrease Storm Water Surges.  There are places in Illahee and north of Illahee where storm water is tight-lined into Illahee Creek rather than being slowed down and retained in detention ponds.  This was done before retention facilities were required.  Those areas greatly contribute to the storm water surges that run through the Illahee Creek corridor and then out into Puget Sound waters with brown silt laden storm water that can be seen for miles out in the bay.  Residents in these areas provide one of the keys to solving the sediment pollution problems in Puget Sound if they would install a rain garden on their property.

To Help Replenish Critical Aquifers.  And in other parts of Illahee there are critical aquifer recharge areas where rain garden infiltration of storm water is crucial for maintaining the stream flow (called base flow) in Illahee Creek.  

Pictures Coming.  Photos of the planting event were taken and we are expecting to put them on the illaheecommunity.org website.  We will provide a link to the photos at a later date.

Another Tree Planting Event to Note.  We have attached a pdf file that notes that in April 2010 Illahee resident and arborist Jim Trainer will plant his 1,000,000 tree on Blake Island.  Congratulations Jim!!

Lost Dog in University Point Area.  We just received the following lost dog report that was sent to our website (illaheecommunity.com).

My name is Gabriela Jablonski and I live off of University Point Circle.  Yesterday as I walked my dogs on the beach, one of them wriggled out of her collar and took off in full sprint after something.  I was unable to retrieve her and she is now lost.  Her name is Koda, she is a large white fluffy Great Pyrennees without her collar.  If you see her or have her please call 633-7224 or cell: 832-528-5167.

Jim Aho

Rain Garden Project Info - 2/11/10

Native Plant Demonstration Rain Garden Plots at the Illahee Preserve.  We have some information on the demonstration rain garden being planned for the Illahee Preserve and we are summarizing it from the document we received. 

NOTE THAT THIS PROJECT IS ON THE FAST TRACK AND WILL COMPLETE IN THREE WEEKS!!!!

Who Is Doing This?

The Port of Illahee, with a grant from the Department of Ecology (DOE), is seeking help in the establishment of demonstration rain gardens at the Illahee Preserve (a Kitsap County Heritage Park).  

Why Are They Doing This?

The rain garden project was first accepted by Illahee Preserve volunteers and was recently expanded are part of a combined Port & DOE campaign to encourage home owners to install their own rain gardens, as Kitsap County, and Illahee in particular, is especially sensitive to storm water run-off.  

Why The Example Plots?

Small rain gardens installed near roofs and roadways are the preferred method to handle the storm water and it is felt that example plots will help encourage and educate residents with installations.  

What Are They Doing?

Two rain garden areas (one with example species and one for demonstration plots) have already been prepared with amended soils as part of the new Almira Drive parking lot installed by Kitsap County Parks for the Illahee Preserve.  The 460 acre preserve is becoming increasingly popular as a destination park, so we feel it is a good place to promote the benefits of rain gardens.

Who Is Doing The Plot Layouts?

Tentative layouts have been or are being developed for the demonstration plots.  Plot #1 layout is in progress, Plot #2 being assigned to area Master Gardeners and Illahee residents, Plot #3 to a landscape architect, and Plot #4 to a botanist. 

How Many Plants are Needed?

We have ordered 280 native plants from the Conservation District that will be arriving on March 5, 2010 and plan to augment the order with gifts and extracts (such as sword fern) from the Preserve, and additional purchases only as necessary.  

When is the Planting Party?

We will be picking up the ordered plants on Friday afternoon, March 5^th, with the primary planting party beginning at 9 am on Saturday, March 6^th, with Sunday, March 7^th, being a backup day if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

The Rain Garden Overall Completion Date?

The goal is to have everything planted and mulched by early March 2010.  We want the rain gardens looking fine for the parking lot dedication, which is tentatively scheduled for on or around Earth Day in April.  Please note that because of parking lot security issues we are limited to lower profile native plants.  Also note that we realize our timing for planting is less than ideal, and we will likely need to water the plants during the summer months of the first year or until they get established. 

Want to Help?

If you are interested in helping plan and/or planting the rain gardens or have questions, please feel free to contact Aimee Weber at (360) 405-1613 or Jim Aho at (360) 479-1049.  Or you can respond to this email and we will pass the information on.

Jim Aho

Community Meeting Report - 11/15/09

Requested Report.  We have been asked what happened at Saturday's Illahee Community Club meeting, and responded that we would summarize our response in an update.  We didn't take notes so this is from memory and what we thought significant.

 

How Informed of Meeting?  The ICC president, Barney Bernhard, had attendees tell how they heard about the meeting when they introduced themselves.  There were some who only saw the signs (there were 12 posted at various locations), some got letters (those who were active members without email), and the rest seemed to have gotten emails and most commented they also saw the signs.  What they have found out is that the signs work in letting people know about the meetings, even if they don't attend.  But, then they want to know what happened, and that is what they like about the Updates.

 

Well Organized.  We found the ICC group had established a number of new committees, complete with chairpersons, and seemed more organized than ever.  If you were a member or on their email list all you had to do is check in.  Someone has done some significant work and it showed.

 

Grant Report.  We found the grant information most interesting.  The Port of Illahee's Dept of Ecology grant is huge, over $200,000, that paid for the Parametrix Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan, and the Aquifer presentation at the Norm Dicks Center this summer, along with water quality monitoring of the creek, and future tree plantings along the creek.  The grant evidently also covers a Native Plant Demonstration Rain Garden project being planned for the new Illahee Preserve parking lot. 

 

Rain Garden Vote.  The ICC group voted to support the new rain garden, and has already helped with keeping the weeds down this past summer, which was also one of the service projects during Illahee Days. 

 

Why Rain Gardens?  One of the major findings of the Parametrix report was that we as residents could reduce the impact of storm water on Illahee Creek by residents having their storm water go through rain gardens.  Sounds too simple but evidently it works.  That is why the interest in a demonstration rain garden so that individual homeowners could see what a rain garden is and then create one.

 

Another Reason for Rain Gardens?  If we understand the aquifer situation correctly after listening to Dr. Massmann's presentation this summer.  The Manette aquifer is essentially in balance, which means the water we are pulling out through wells, is basically the same with the rain water that is being infiltrated back into the aquifer.  In other words, it is extremely important for us to find ways to help infiltrate the rains that fall on our properties, back into the ground where it can replenish our aquifers.  We are looking into asking the grant people if they can make available the video that BKAT made and aired following the presentation of Dr. Massmann.

 

Port of Illahee Report.  The Port noted they are proceeding with the purchase of property in the vicinity of the community dock for use as an office.  They noted they are purchasing a solar powered speed sign for along Illahee Road that should be installed by the end of the year.  They are taking applications to fill Don Deitch's Port Commissioner position (Don turned in a letter of resignation) and will announce their decision at their December meeting.  It is nice to have involved and dedicated Port Commissioners.

 

Illahee Community Plan.  We saw this item on the agenda, but they appeared to have skipped over it.  What we did see were CD copies of the Illahee Community Plan and a few paper copies.  Evidently they were just made up that morning and they don't know how much to charge for them, or if they should give them away.  We will try to find out more on the availability of copies.

 

Timbers Edge Discussion.  This was most interesting for many in attendance.  Earlier the Board of Directors was approached and encouraged to appeal the Commissioner's decision regarding Timbers Edge.  The Board said they would only do so if the community would come up with the money or pledges as the Board is liable financially for bills and fees.  At the meeting they were still going through the checks and pledges that had come in and no final report was made. 

 

Legal Issues Discussed.  The legal issues were discussed with one that was very interesting -- it read "Commissioners engaged in unlawful procedure to come to their decision as they came into ex parte contact with staff."  One of the resident Illahee lawyers explained what that meant and we will try to explain it here.  Judges, and those in a judicial capacity such as the Commissioners when they hear an appeal, are not supposed to discuss the case with one side without the other side being present.  According to the ICC, they feel there was such contact.

 

Wikipedia Ex parte Definitions.  We looked the term up in Wikipedia and found the following:  Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from (by or for) one party" and "It is also used more loosely to refer to improper unilateral contacts with a court, arbitrator or represented party without notice to the other party or counsel for that party." and "In the United States, the availability of ex parte orders or decrees from both federal and state courts is sharply limited by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which provide that a person shall not be deprived of any interest in liberty or property without due process of law."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_parte

 

[some parts removed because of confidentiality]

 

Sensitive Report.  We understand that the legal items we are reporting on are sensitive to some in the community (they would rather have us not report on legal issues since they fear they will be prematurely passed on to the other side).  We did reduce our Cc list considerably, which was also a conern.  We are trying to report impartially what we hear and know of so the community will be well informed, and feel that some of this information is too important to wait until items, like probably further appeals, are actually filed.

 

Legal Issues Reporting?  Let us know your thoughts on what you would like to see in our reporting of legal issues.

 

Jim Aho

Why Attend Tuesday's Meeting? - 6/28/09

Interest in Tuesday's Meeting. There have been questions about, and interest shown, concerning Tuesday's meeting at the Norm Dick's Center (a presentation by hydrologist Dr. Joel Massmann beginning at 6:30 pm on 6/30/09). Some very busy people wanted more information and have asked us some blunt questions about attending.

Why should I attend Tuesday’s meeting? We were asked the following question “Can you give me a good reason why I should take the time to attend Tuesday’s aquifer meeting?” When we started to respond with a detailed explanation we were asked for the short version. Our responses are therefore a short version and a longer more detailed version.

THE SHORT VERSION. The aquifers that supply our drinking water and the water to Illahee Creek may be over allocated. According to the numbers, If everyone used their water right allocations our aquifer levels and the low flow in Illahee Creek would steadily decrease. We need to understand what is happening and what we can do to help make sure critical water resources are sustained into the future.

THE LONG VERSION. Rainfall A Problem? Water is a key ingredient to life and in Illahee all our water comes from aquifers that are recharged by local rains. At one time experts thought our water came from the Olympic Mountain area and only relatively recently discovered that it is the infiltration of our own rainfall into our aquifers that supplies our drinking water. When we thought there was an over abundance of water, we and the county treated our rainwater (stormwater) as a problem rather than a resource. The state and county developed regulations to dump our rainwater (stormwater) from our roofs, driveways and roads through drains and pipes into nearby creeks and into Puget Sound, with little thought of infiltrating it back into the ground.

Aquifer Issues Not Getting Attention. While things are beginning to change with a new emphasis on controlling stormwater and Low Impact Development (LID) applications (primarily because the stormwater is polluting Puget Sound), the importance of infiltration to replenish our aquifers hasn’t gotten the commensurate attention by the public or the press.

Illahee Studies Conducted. What got the attention of many Illahee folks on this subject, was a concern of the low flows (or baseflows) in Illahee Creek, along with high flows (storm surges), both of which are damaging to fish in the stream. Years ago the Port of Illahee was concerned enough to begin discussions with Kitsap County on how to control the surges that sent brown silt laden sediment flows for miles into Puget Sound, which led to the Port applying for grants to study the problem. When a new development planned to install large concrete detention vaults on the steep and unstable slopes of Illahee Creek, the Port and the Community hired experts to study the impacts to the creek (which eventually resulted in a change to some of their plans).

Aquifer Importance Identified. Those studies documented that Illahee Creek was entirely fed by shallow aquifers during non-precipitation periods and concluded that high density development in the area will decrease the baseflows in Illahee Creek. We learned the area is designated as a critical aquifer recharge area by Kitsap County. The studies were also instrumental in the area being down-zoned in 2006.

Why Attend - Replenishment Rate Unsustainable? So why attend? According to the Illahee Creek Aquifer Protection Plan (part of the recent Parametrix “Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan") as we read it, the water rights exceed the replenishment rate for the Manette Peninsula and within the Illahee Creek watershed. In other words, if each holder of water rights fully utilized those rights, the aquifers and creek levels could not be sustained.

Why Attend - Illahee Creek Aquifer Not Being Replenished? Secondly, those residents watching and monitoring Illahee Creek are alarmed at the current low flows and wonder if there are areas around the creek where the aquifer is not being replenished. They are concerned that this lack of replenishment could spell the end of Illahee Creek as a fish bearing stream. In this day and age we should not be destroying a stream’s ability to support fish.

Why Attend - To Understand and Act? Finally, we need to understand what is happening with our drinking water and stream flows, and what we can do to help make sure our critical water resources are sustainable.

Answers on Tuesday. Dr. Massmann should be able to explain our situation and give us some answers.

Other Responses Later. We have received other responses regarding this meeting and will publish them later.

Jim Aho

Important Aquifer Meeting & Rain Garden Report - 6/24/09

Important Illahee/Aquifer Meeting on Tuesday, June 30th.  Hydrologist and ground water consultant, Dr. Joel Massmann, will be presenting a briefing on GROUNDWATER, AQUIFERS & INFILTRATION REQUIREMENTS - A Briefing of the Manette Peninsula Aquifer and the Illahee Watershed aquifer Protection Plan from 6:30 - 8 pm at the Norm Dicks Center on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

 

Who is Dr. Massmann?  When the Illahee Community was concerned about the low flow in Illahee Creek a number of years ago they went looking for the best independent hydrologist they could find and hired Dr. Massmann to conduct that study.  He is a groundwater consultant with over 25 years experience. He is the founder of Keta Waters and was previously a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington.

Also Part of the DOE Grant Team Studying the Illahee Watershed.  Dr. Massmann was also a member of team Parametrix assembled to develop the Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan for the Port of Illahee and as part of a Department of Ecology grant.  Dr. Massmann wrote the Aquifer Protection Plan for the final report which he will likely be including as part of his presentation.

Presentation Items.   Dr. Massmann will discuss the underlying aquifers and groundwater recharge on the Manette Peninsula and within the Illahee Creek watershed.  The presentation will address questions regarding how much fresh water is in these aquifers, where does this fresh water come from,  and where does it go.  These questions will be described in the context of relationships between groundwater for municipal supply and groundwater to support stream flow and wetlands. 

Questions & Answer Session.  There will be an opportunity to ask questions of Dr. Massmann.  Additionally, Dave Tucker, from the Kitsap County Publlic Works Department is planning on attending and will also be available to answer questions.

Why Attend?  The Manette Peninsula aquifer is the primary source of the stream flows in Illahee Creek. Illahee Creek is fed entirely by the aquifer when there is no rain and already has low baseflows during these non-rainy periods.  It is those low baseflows that jeopardize the ability of the stream to support salmon, not to mention that the creek is also affected by the stormwater surges that produce the storm surges that tend to flush out the salmon.  Some feel the stream is already approaching marginal baseflows and it will be unable to withstand the added pressures of developments like Timbers Edge.  That is why the Illahee Community Club has appealed the Hearing Examiner's decision to approve the Timbers Edge development.  This is an opportunity to get some answers from a recognized expert who is familiar with the aquifers and the Illahee Watershed area.

Infiltration Needed.  One of the messages we think we will hear from Dr. Massmann is the need to infiltrate the rains we receive, rather than trying to pipe the water to Illahee Creek or Puget Sound.  We have heard that infiltration should be as close as possible to surfaces like roofs, driveways, and roadways, and thus the emphasis on bioretention features like raingardens, bioswales, infiltration pits, pervious surfaces, and the like.

Rain Garden Class.  We had an Illahee resident who attended a Sea Grant and Kitsap County rain garden class this past Saturday and thought this might be a good class of the Illahee community, since our soils are generally very permeable (note that there were a number a gravel pits in the area in the recent past) and we need to replenish the aquifer that supplies Illahee Creek.  We will provide more information on this in a following update.

Questions?  The meeting is on Tuesday at the Norm Dicks Center on 6th Street in downtown Bremerton.  Evening parking is readily available.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 479-1049,

Jim Aho

Port of Illahee Distribution Letter - 3/6/09

Port of Illahee Letter. We received the attached Port of Illahee letter ( page 1 - page 2 ) a few days ago and forwarded the accompanying "Executive Summary" in an earlier Update. The Port's letter distributes a major report on the Illahee Creek Watershed to a number of recipients and to our website person, Laurie Jones, who is trying to figure out how to put the 500 plus page report on the community website.

Excellent Summary. We found the Port letter to be an excellent, but very brief, summary of the deteriorating conditions of the creek, the culvert, and the bay that prompted the Port to apply for the Department of Ecology grant.

Next Steps. Now that the Port and the community have scientific data that backs up their claims that Illahee Creek has some major issues that need to be dealt with they will need to determine what the next steps will be. We quote one of their closing statements:

"The Port of Illahee requests report recipients utilize the information contained herein to assist the Port, the Illahee Community, and Kitsap County to correct past mistakes and to promote the protection of Puget Sound, Illahee Creek, the Illahee Creek watershed, and the underlying aquifers for the present and future generations."

Report Information. We will begin to share information in the report periodically in future updates. We understand Kitsap County is already looking at areas where efforts can begin.

Please Read the Port Letter. The Port of Illahee needs to be commended for their interests and concerns for Illahee Creek that resulted in their efforts to secure the Department of Ecology grant that funded a major scientific study of the watershed. The next steps will be up to everyone to help with the necessary fixes. We ask each Illahee resident to read the letter and to become aware of what is needed to "correct past mistakes."

Jim Aho

Grant Report Executive Summary - 2/27/09

Department of Ecology Grant Report - We are starting to distribute information we received this week. The attached link is for an Executive Summary that was an attachment to a Port of Illahee letter that we will send out with the next Update.

Jim Aho

Thursday Meeting Questions - 1/28/09

Thursday Evening Meeting Questions. We have received a few questions about Thursday evening's meeting at the Norm Dicks Center to present the approved Illahee Community Plan and hear a presentation by Parametrix of their study of the Illahee Creek watershed.


Why the Norm Dicks Center Instead of the Library? First of all the library was not available and it is harder to schedule because of the cutback in the library hours. Secondly, the Norm Dick's Center is a state of the art facility for presentations. And, by having the meeting in the evening, parking is readily available.


Why Brief the Approved Community Plan? We have found that there are a number of Illahee residents who are not familiar with all of the aspects of the Community Plan, including some of the boundary changes made at the last minute by the County Commissioners. We felt this would be a good opportunity to combine two meetings to make it more efficient for community members. There is also a question of whether there is a need for the Citizen Advisory Group to continue.


Is the Watershed Report the Grant Report? The quick response is Yes. The long response is the Port of Illahee received a Department of Ecology grant of $181,000 to complete a basin assessment and to develop a Surface Water Management Plan. The report was issued in late 2008 and is just getting ready for distribution. This will be the first public presentation of the findings of the report.


Why Was the Grant Needed? There are a number of issues with Illahee Creek and the watershed. They have to do with problems with:

• Surface Water Runoff
  
• Landslides
  
• Reduced Aquifer Recharge
  
• Water Quality
  
• Filling of the Illahee Creek Culvert
  
• Degraded Salmon Habitat

Are There Solutions? That is what the Parametrix report is supposed to do, tell us what the solutions are to the above problems.


Do You Need Help? We have not asked for help yet, but we would like to ask for some via this email update. We would like to have some reference tables at the back of the room for those wanting information regarding the Illahee Forest Preserve and the Illahee Community Club. Our resident photographer has another engagement and we would like to have someone take photos of the meeting and another person to operate a video camera. We have the camera, but not a tripod. We have the conference room from 5 pm to 9 pm and will start setting up at 5:30 pm for those who may be able to help.


Thank You for Your Questions.

Jim Aho
PS - Ten signs were placed throughout the Illahee Community. The one in the attached photo was on Sunset. We often have the signs at the end of McWilliams taken down by someone so there may be only nine out there.

Press Release - 3/5/08

The following 'Press Release' was sent to local newspapers today and is provided for your information. This was our first time so we are waiting now to see what the papers do with it.

Please note that all of the residents in Illahee will want to attend this meeting. Dr. Booth and Dr. Massmann are both former UW professors and really are renowned in their fields of geology and hydrology. One of the questions we will be asking Dr. Booth is - Where does the Blakely Harbor Fault line (that was identified following the 2001 Seattle earthquake) comes through in Illahee?

The Norm Dicks center is a great place for this type of presentation. By having it during the early evening time there should be readily available parking.

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Port of Illahee
Surface Water Management Plan Grant Office

ILLAHEE PROJECTS BRIEFING
A Briefing of Illahee Creek and the Illahee Watershed by Scientific Experts


A mid-project briefing by renowned scientists working in Illahee will be held at the Norm Dicks Government Center on the evening of March 11, 2008 from 6-8 pm.

Speakers include: Fisheries biologist Pete Lawson of Paramentrix; Geologist Derek Booth, PhD of Stillwater Sciences; Hydrologist Joel Massmann, PhD of Keta Waters; and Stormwater Engineer, Erin Nelson of Paramentrix.

Dr. Booth will discuss the general geology of the Illahee area and in particular the relationship with groundwater and surface water hydrology, along with his thoughts regarding whether Illahee lies within a seismic fault zone. Dr. Joel Massmann will discuss the underlying aquifers in Illahee and their relationship to Illahee Creek and low base flows. Pete Lawson will present his biological assessment of Illahee Creek and fish habitat recommendations. Erin Nelson will discuss their progress in identifying solutions to the storm water surges plaguing Illahee Creek. There will also be brief overview of the results of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

These projects are funded by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Washington State Department of Ecology, and by the Port of Illahee, the Illahee Forest Preserve, and the Illahee Community. Water quality testing programs and stormwater planning are supported by Kitsap County Department of Health and Kitsap County Public Works.

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If you’d like more information about this topic, or would like to schedule an interview with one of the speakers, please call Jim Aho @ (360) 479-1049, or email Jim @ jimaho@gmail.com.