NORDLAND — Jefferson County Public Utility District No. 1 officials are meeting with state Department of Transportation representatives today in hopes of finalizing the permitting process so that a public water system on Marrowstone Island can begin.
The citizens group, Conserve Water First, decided not to appeal a Superior Court judge’s decision that allowed the PUD water project to continue.
PUD officials had already initiated the permitting process three years ago, when it decided to extend a water pipeline to homes along the island, said Jim Parker, PUD general manager.
The pipeline is necessary because of saltwater intrusion into private wells on Marrowstone.
But the project was stalled last year because of the legal challenge filed by Conserve Water First in Jefferson County Superior Court.
The group asserted that the PUD had not correctly counted the number of property owners opposing the water system project in a survey prior to PUD commissioners’ approval of the project.
“It was not about the water,” said PUD Commissioner Wayne King, reflecting on the suit.
“It’s about development, and we are not in the development business.
“Marrowstone Island will never become an urban area.”
