PUD Posthumously lauds man for his lake

The following article appeared in the April 23. 2006 Jefferson County edition of the Peninsula Daily News.

New storage resources to support future growth are key to the continuting economic viability of the rural regions of Washington, coupled with the need to protect our natural resources, including the many species of concern found in our forests and waters. The Public Utility District's foresight and efforts in this area of water resource management are commendable, and an example worth following at all levels.

As we look toward the challenges of providing adequate stream flows to help assure the success of salmon and other fish species, while also providing for the needs of the people who live here, and those who will be building their homes here in the future, we need to be imaginative and innovative. Storing water in times of high availability, and then releasing it into streams when flows decline is one of the areas where we need to apply a lot of innovation in eastern Jefferson County.

Water storage and active flow management are going to become increasingly important ways to make up for a possible loss in snowpack related to climate change. If more of our annual precipitation arrives in the form of rain, we will need to adapt to the challenge by capturing the runoff using efficient and comprehensively engineered storage options.

It's good to see our local Public Utility District anticipating the need and acting on it.

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PUD posthumously lauds man for his lake
240 acres to be future water source for region

By Evan Cael
Peninsula Daily News

EAGLEMOUNT — Jefferson County Public Utillity District commissioners spent Saturday afternoon at the recently purchased Peterson Lake following a memorial service for Bernard "Bernie" Peterson.

Family and friends gathered at the Peterson home that overlooks Peterson Lake at the end of Peterson Road, south of Discovery Bay and north of state Highway 104, for a barbecue to celebrate the life of Peterson.

Peterson died Oct. 31, less than a month after the PUD acquired the lake from him.

PUD commissioners attended to honor the man who sold 240 acres of lake property last fall to benefit the community and prevent a developer from subdividing the land.

Public Utility District commissioners signed documents in October agreeing to pay $2.22 million for the property homesteaded by Peterson's grandfather in 1889.

After several years of a declining utility district tax rate, commissioners now have to consider increasing the tax rate up to 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to pay for the lake's acquisition.

Under the property purchase agreement, the utility district pays $225,000 down and $14,300 a month at 6 percent annual interest to the Petersons.

Peterson signed the purchase and sale agreement on Oct. 3.

Natural storage site

Long seeking future water storage, utility district leaders envision Peterson Lake as a natural water storage site for at least the next 30 years.

District officials said the lake has 26 acres of surface area and is 60 feet deep in the middle, and its level fluctuates less than a foot each year.

At 565 feet in elevation, the lake is at the headwaters of Chimacum Creek and has never seen a motor boat or development beyond the Peterson home, district officials said.

The district is considering the lake for a reservoir or well field, and have no plans to use it in the short term.

Utility district consensus is that the lake could ultimately, perhaps 30 years from now, serve as a backup source of water to growing areas in the county, especially Marrowstone Island, where 50,000 gallons a year are being trucked in to homes with wells that have run dry or are fouled by saltwater intrusion.

The utillity district will secure the lake, sealing off access to protect the waters believed to be close in quality to when they were first settled in the 1800s.

Fences are expected to go up and signs will be posted around the site, letting people know it is a federal offense to trespass.

Costs to study and improve the lake will be paid through state Department of Ecology grants.

Reporter Evan Cael can be reached at 360-385-2335 or evan.cael@peninsuladailynews.com.