Olympia Artesian Drinking Water Well

Status Report - June 2002

Background

Olympia’s free-flowing artesian drinking water well draws thousands of people each month for the perceived healthful benefits of water that contains no added purifiers.

The artesian well is located in the Diamond Parking lot on 4th Avenue between Adams and Jefferson Streets. The City of Olympia does not own the well - it is the property of the Diamond Parking lot. This means that future unrestricted public access to the well is not guaranteed.

Citizens in the community have become involved in efforts to establish a public artesian well. A group called “Friends of the Artesians,” the City of Olympia, and the Port of Olympia are working together to create a public park-like area with a flowing artesian well as the focal point. They have established a list of potential sites and have jointly submitted a ground-water right application to the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to develop the well.

Valuable Community Asset

The State Departments of Health and Ecology and Thurston County believe that a properly sited park-like area with an artesian well that meets public drinking water and environmental standards would be a valuable community asset.

State and county officials, in coordination, have given the City, the Port, and Friends of the Artesians a list of what is needed for the artesian well to be approved. Agency interests and responsibilities are diverse, so such coordination is essential.

Agency Responsibilities

The Department of Health (DOH) has the authority and responsibility to review and approve any water source that would serve the public park, if used for drinking water (Chapter 246-290 WAC).

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has the authority and responsibility to administer state water laws and regulations, and assure that water rights and well construction concerns have been addressed.

Thurston County Environmental Health has the authority to review and evaluate the proposed well site(s) within state regulations, DOH guidelines, and as outlined in the requirements of the Joint Plan of Operation with DOH; Article 3 of the Thurston County Sanitary Code; and the North Thurston County Coordinated Water System Plan (NTCCWSP) guidelines.

Proposed Site Concerns

Many of the proposed well sites are near abandoned landfills and hazardous waste sites, raising public health and environmental concerns. Long-term safety of drinking water is the primary concern. Thurston County has identified more than 40 hazardous waste sites in the general vicinity of the proposed well sites. In addition, the County has documented widespread contamination of the upper aquifer by petroleum products and other hazardous materials. The geology of the area is generally hydraulic (man-made) fill overlying natural tidelands and glacial sediments.

Next Steps for the Artesian Well Project

The State and County have outlined a list of next requirements needed to approve the artesian well. These include:

An owner needs to be identified who will have management responsibilities of the artesian well drinking water source and subsequent water system.
The owner needs to be able to demonstrate the financial viability, and the technical and managerial capability, to achieve and maintain compliance with applicable local, state, and federal drinking water standards.
The artesian well has to meet State Department of Health drinking water standards for new-source approval.
The artesian well should be sited in an area that does not pose a significant risk for contamination of the well water or other water-bearing zones.
Construction should be consistent with State Well Drilling Standards, Chapter 173-160 WAC.
The well needs to be constructed so that artesian flow can be controlled in case of an emergency.
For Ecology to issue a water right, the overflow from the well cannot go to waste - it needs to be put to “beneficial use.” One idea is that overflow water could be used to supplement a wetland.

For a complete list of these requirements, please see the State Department of Health Web site.

Summary

The State and the County are committed to working with the Friends of the Artesians, the City of Olympia, and the Port of Olympia to explore options for a community park-like setting with an artesian well as a source for public drinking water. The State and the County will continue to look for flexible solutions without compromising respective public health and environmental interests and responsibilities.