Beckett Point residents flush with excitement now that community septic system almost finished
By Jeff Chew, Peninsula Daily News
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"It's been a long process," said a smiling Smith, a five-year Beckett Point resident who watched Friday as PUD employees were trained to operate the new $2.8 million system expected to be completed in late February.
The project, in the works since 2002, will ultimately serve 100 homeowners on the sand-spit fishing village that dates back nearly 70 years.
Failing septic systems, some nothing more than 55-gallon drums originally, threatened the placid waters of shellfish-rich Discovery Bay with fecal coliform contamination.
The new system pumps wastewater away from the shoreline, pulling it uphill about a quarter-mile to a six-acre drainfield.
While Smith and other Beckett Point residents praised Jefferson County Public Utility District leaders, saying they had gone beyond the call of duty, there was a dark time last spring when PUD officials nearly walked away from the project.
Archeological discovery
That was shortly after PUD-contracted Pape and Sons uncovered Native American remains and artifacts — 58 bones and bone fragments — in late May, and the PUD was faced with uncertain delays and additional expenses.
Jefferson County PUD General Manager Jim Parker said the unexpected find led to much of the three-month project delay and a yet-to-be-accounted-for loss of thousands of dollars.
Shortly after the discovery, Jefferson County and PUD commissioners called a special meeting of Beckett Point residents at the county courthouse in Port Townsend.
There they were joined by Allyson Brooks, state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation director; North Olympic Peninsula state Reps. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; tribal representatives; and many Beckett Point homeowners.
County shares costs
Hearing residents' pleas to complete the project, the gathering ultimately led to the three Jefferson County commissioners agreeing to share additional costs with PUD.
With an eye on protecting the bay's shellfish-rich shorelines from Beckett Point's effluent-seeping septic systems, the county helped secure a $50,000 state Department of Ecology grant to offset PUD delay-related losses and finance an archaeological dig and study.
Seattle-based archaeologist Gary Wessen, who was hired by PUD and state archaeology officials, was joined by representatives of the Jamestown S'Klallam, Port Gamble S'Klallam and Skokomish tribes.
In mid-July, Wessen reported a single partially intact human grave had been found along with a concentration of other disturbed bones, stone tools and shell middens.
Shell middens are the remains of ancient beach campfires.
"This work has identified four areas of potentially intact shell midden deposits and five additional areas where clearly disturbed shell midden materials are present," said Wessen, whose study allowed the state's top archaeologist, Brooks, to allow PUD to resume work in September.
Wessen said Beckett Point was once occupied by S'Klallam and Chimera peoples.
PUD officials agreed to modify the project's existing engineering plans to move some infrastructure to avoid disturbing shell midden areas.
An archaeologist remained to monitor digging work while the project proceeded.
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Port Townsend/Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: January 19. 2008 9:00PM