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October 21th, 2005

BAYVIEW WATERSHED STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN - STATUS UPDATE

SKAGIT COUNTY - Subsequent to the release of the 95 percent Draft Bayview Watershed Stormwater Management Plan last month, comments were taken and meetings held with various interested parties, including Drainage Districts, property owners with development interests on the ridge, members of the farming community, the City of Burlington, the Padilla Bay Research Reserve, the Port of Skagit, the Skagit Conservation District, and other stakeholders. As a result of input on the 95 percent Draft, the feasibility of an additional drainage option is being analyzed.

The new option consists of a perimeter ditch along the base of the ridge, to capture stormwater runoff from the ridge before it reaches the existing low-land drainage system. The results of this analysis will be included in the Final Draft of the Plan, due to be issued in December, 2005. The Final Plan is expected to be issued a few weeks later and adopted soon after at a regular public session of the Skagit County Board of Commissioners.

The Bayview Watershed Stormwater Management Plan is a project of the Surface Water Management Section of Skagit County Public Works. The Plan analyzes the existing drainage of the Bay View Ridge area and the potential impacts on drainage due to future development of the area, as prescribed in the recently completed Bay View Ridge Subarea Plan. The result of the Stormwater Plan will be a number of recommended improvements to the drainage infrastructure in the area that will help accommodate development on the Ridge, but not to the detriment of the agricultural lands on the flats.

Anyone desiring more information is encouraged to call Jan Flagan, Assistant Surface Water Manager, 360-336-9400.