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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDrinking Water (PDF)Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 1 of 6 PROGRAMS: Drinking Water MISSION: The mission of the Drinking Water Program is to protect public health by assuring that residents and visitors to Jefferson County have access to a safe and reliable supply of quality drinking water and that it is reasonably available. By enforcing and monitoring laws regulating public and private water supplies, the Drinking Water Program minimizes the threat of waterborne disease. Goal Objective Task Performance Measure 2010 Actual 2011 Actual 2012 Actual 2013 Actual 2014 Planned 2014 Actual Goal 1: Assure that all new and decommissioned wells are constructed in accordance with requirements established by the Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) or defer enforcement to ECY Inspect at least 50% of all new wells constructed with 25% of these with the well driller present and 90% of all wells being de- commissioned Be available when well start notifications are received to conduct inspections within 3 days of start When a well application is received for a decommissioning contact the well driller to discuss timing and schedule. Percent of new wells (starts) inspected 52% 54% 50% 73% 50% 60% Percent of inspected wells with driller on site 55% 65% 75% 76% 25% 66% Percent decommissioned well inspected 100% 100% 100% 95% 100% 88% Goal 2: Integrate water adequacy review with compliance with Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 17 and the In-Stream Flow Rule (ISFR) Comply with reporting requirements from ECY by updating database to include means to track ISFR information Determine through review of building permit applications and subdivision potable water review if subject to requirements of ISFR rule (map check and parcel info) Determine the sub-basin and management area in accordance with rule. Add activities and conditions that allow for data tracking Number of reviews in Coastal Management area of WRIA 17 13 5 10 7 10 10 Number of reviews in Reserve Management area of WRIA 17 3 2 1 5 10 10 Number of reviews in Chimacum Sub-basin of WRIA 17 2 2 5 4 2 2 Number of reviews that were exempted from WRIA 17 rule. (ECY decision) 2 0 1 7 2 2 Subdivision lots approved 1 NR* 0 0 2 2 *NR= need report created in database in order to track accurately; where numbers are shown they are manually hand counted. Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 2 of 6 Goal 3: Integrate water adequacy review with compliance to the Seawater Intrusion Ordinance Comply with the requirements of the (DCD) Jefferson County Seawater Intrusion ordinance and update maps annually Create report in database to determine through quality testing required for building permits and subdivisions potable water review if subject to the requirements Establish new at risk or high risk zones Number of wells that established new at risk zone 5 0 3 0 2 1 Number of wells that established a new high risk zone 3 0 1 1 2 0 Number of Hydro-geological assessments reviewed NR* NR* 2 NR* 2 NR* 2 NR* 1 Goal 4: Minimize delay of building permits and subdivisions project approval and completing by prioritizing water adequacy review Conduct initial review of all potable water review applications within 14 days of application Create reports in database to establish date of initial review and statistics to better assess issues around timely approval Percent of reviews completed in 14 days NR* NR* 40% 77% 75% 59% Goal 5 Ensure consistent compliance with drinking water requirements Work toward coordination with other permitting agencies. Those agencies include but are not limited to DOH (in-stream flow rule and public water supplies), Washington State Department of Agriculture (food processing permit applications), JC food safety and JC onsite, JCDCD Establish regular meeting dates and agreements when applications trigger coordination Partner with WSU in ongoing educational workshops along with other regulatory agencies Presentations at WSU 0 2 3 1 2 1 *NR= need report created in database in order to track accurately; where numbers are shown they are manually hand counted. Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 3 of 6 2014 SUMMARY OF KEY FUNDING/SERVICE ISSUES:  Recent updates and improvements to our database and shifting existing programs into Tidemark have facilitated data transfer across multiple departments for better coordination and efficiency.  Performance measures have been substantially modified to more accurately capture goals and objectives that relate directly to tasks. Continued efforts are needed to update fields within the database to better capture statistics, performance and funding needs. Focus must continue to be on maintaining consistent data entry, verifying accuracy and determine ways to make information readily available for the public.  Improvement in reporting from the database continues. Priority should be coordination with the Department of Community Development to minimize unnecessary duplication, multiple data entries and inaccurate information must be minimized to better serve the public.  Efforts are underway to implement consistent time tracking in application processes in order to recoup the costs in excess of the fees submitted. Processes to generate an effectively to bill process, consistent across all programs is underway.  More staffing resources are needed to complete standard operating procedures to ensure processes are documented and consistent work is maintained regardless of future staffing changes.  Cross training staff in water quality issues related to drinking water is needed and will be a priority in 2015. The currently staffing budget is approximately .3 FTE and a single individual is trained. In order to adequately meet stated goals and timely reviews to better serve the public, at a minimum, the program needs cross training for other staff to provide coverage where needed. This need was highlighted this year due to considerable absences of the program lead that were unforeseen, resulting in reduced improvements in performance.  There continues to be a need to establish a consistent and adequate funding source to focus on drinking water issues in Jefferson County. Water quality and quantity is a topic expected to be at the forefront of future development, environmental sustainability and climate change. Lacking appropriate resources directed to the issue, staff may be at a severe disadvantage to appropriately respond to the broad range of issues in this regard.  No public outreach was conducted this year. Instead, the program participated in efforts to implement a permit improvement process with the Department of Community Development. These efforts are ongoing and have included changes in processing of permits and time tracking to better evaluate cost and assessment of fees. Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 4 of 6 2014 STUDY/ANALYSIS OF RESULTS  The County general fund stagnation is resulting in staff program reassignments toward grant funded projects. While costs have risen, staffing in the drinking water program has been sustained at the 2011 level of approximately .3 FTE. This is largely due to increased efforts to recoup cost in the Group A sanitary survey program and billing for additional time in potable water review for building permits. These efforts will continue and may result in increases associated with permit fees in the future.  In-house expertise is being weakened with un-sustained funding and increased work load. This results in limited trainings/seminar attendance and multi-jurisdictional interaction related to water issues and climate change. These forums give rise to new and creative means to initiate policy development for alternative water supplies processes and conservation measures that minimize impacts of water shortages. However, due to the high workload, these fall by the wayside in efforts to conduct reviews in a timelier manner.  Applications for well inspections continue to be down substantially since 2008. Well inspection applications for new wells was equal to last year’s totals.  Well decommissioning applications are down from last year’s totals by approximately 60% (20 in 2013 to 8 in 2014). Decommissioning statistics include new well attempts where the result is either dry or untreatable water (mostly chlorides) and the well is decommissioned, prior to the driller leaving the site. That process of tracking started approximately 2007.  Review of processes related to potable water review for building permits and subdivisions needs better communication with the Department of Community Development. Efforts to apply consistent and compliant application submittals for structures that necessitate potable water review must be rigidly adhered to. Education by EH staff to DCD staff is underway to better coordinate this process.  Time associated with processing potable water review is now being tracked. There was an 18% decrease from 2013 in completing review of a building permit by EH staff within 14 days. The reduced efficiency can be attributed to two issues; the individual responsible for this work spent a large part of the year using FMLA due to unforeseen illness and minimal back up staff were available to complete this work. Another contributing factor is that the same individual responsible for the water program was also assigned primary responsibility for septic review for building permits. Fortunately, data also indicates that the overall time from submittal to approval of the potable water activity has not increased, indicating that both intake submittals are improving and client correction are more prompt. The request for additional information from the client Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 5 of 6 decrease from 50% in 2013 to 28% in 2014 indicating intake staff is not only better trained but has also minimized incomplete submittals due to extensive checklists that have been created.  The LEAN process that began in 2014 has shown some improvement in review for single family residence permitting. A new, but not fully implemented, process has been drafted appropriately named “Up Front Review”. It will involve staff from each department responsible for review to attend a meeting during submittal of a single family residence permit application. The intent is to review the project with the applicant and provide immediate feedback on what will be necessary to approve the permit in accordance with each department’s requirements. This process has the potential to allow for very nearly same day turn around for permits if full and complete applications are received for projects that meet regulatory requirements.  High risk seawater intrusion hydrogeological assessments will continue to be a challenge for EH staff. A structure for recouping fees has been implemented, however time management remains difficult. Additionally, determinations made upon assessment reviews due to poorly crafted hydrogeological assessment submittals remain difficult for staff. These are large, complex and expensive reports. When information in them does not match, is not factual or demonstrates an adverse impact, conflict with the engineer and/or the client can ensue.  The I-502 recreational marijuana operations have caused considerable consternation across the department but particularly with regard to water, because of the water resource management regulations of WRIA 17 and the areas with severe limitations for groundwater withdrawals for new development. The process of permitting these facilities appropriately has been very time consuming and inconsistent both across Jefferson County departments but also from county to county and across state agencies.  All of the drinking water related policies need to be updated to reflect current codes and processes. Most of the policy’s date from the 1990’s. Revised and updated state DOH and ECY joint guidelines were to be issued in 2014 to address this need. Unfortunately, due to state-wide politics, that guideline issuance has been postponed until further work can be completed. We anticipate this work to be completed sometime in 2015 and we eagerly await its issuance.  Coordinated Water System Planning in the county has been disabled and water resource planning units have lost funding. Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2014 Year-end Report DRINKING WATER PROGRAM Page 6 of 6 DRINKING WATER PROGRAM STATISTICS BY YEAR Well inspection program 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 # of well applications received & reviewed 76 83 61 56 36 47 38 # of new wells start notification (drilled) (includes some well applications from previous years) 79 77 62 57 28 23 20 # of wells decommissioned 17 8 13 12 12 20 8 # of new wells inspected 48 53 32 31 16 17 12 % of new wells (starts) inspected 63% 68% 52% 54% 78% 73% 60% # of inspected wells with driller on site (includes new and decommissioned wells) 25 28 21 13 21 % of inspected wells with driller on site 55% 65% 85% 76% 66% # of decommissioned wells inspected 17 8 13 12 12 19 7 % decommissioned well inspected 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 88% Determination of adequate potable water 2013 2014 # of potable water reviews completed New Categories Added in 2012 99 82 # of reviews complete in 14 days 79 49 % of reviews done within 14 days 82% 60% # of reviews for public water. 57 34 # of reviews for two party wells. 8 8 # of reviews for individual wells. 34 37 # of reviews for rainwater catchment systems. 1 2 # of reviews for shallow/dug wells 2 1 # of reviews for spring water 1 1 # of reviews in High Risk SIPZ Zones with Hydrogeologic assessments 1 1 # of reviews that required Notice to Title for quality 1 3 # of review that required Notice to Title for quantity 1 3 # of reviews in Coastal Management area of WRIA 17 14 17 # of reviews in Reserve Management area of WRIA 17 6 2 # of reviews in Chimacum sub-basin 6 5 # of reviews that were exempted from WRIA 17 rule. 7 1