Port Angeles City Council eyes next stage for drought

Published 11:55 am Thursday, July 23, 2026

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council has given City Manager Nathan West the authority to declare a Stage III water shortage if one is needed in the next few weeks.

A Stage III water shortage is usually declared through action by the city council. However, the council’s next meeting is not until Aug. 18, so West brought forward a late item to address the issue Tuesday night during the council’s regular meeting.

“We’ve added as a late item a conditional authorization for future Stage III water shortage declaration, limited outdoor restrictions, and that’s a conditional request dependent on whether that is triggered prior to your Aug. 18 meeting,” West said.

West declared a Stage II water shortage earlier Tuesday. That includes asking city residents for voluntary conservation measures.

“Flows on the Elwha River, our primary source of drinking water, continue to decrease,” the agenda memo states. “A mild winter with limited snowpack coupled with minimal precipitation over the last couple months has resulted in the low water flows. Staff does not expect a substantial increase in flows until seasonal rains return this fall.”

West further addressed the issue during his manager’s report by pointing out that declaring a Stage II water shortage in the middle of July is unusual.

“This is probably one of the earliest times we’ve had to declare a Stage II water shortage in a very long time,” West said. “Recognizing most of the time we’re seeing Stage II come approximately mid-August.”

During her council report, council member LaTrisha Suggs also addressed the issue.

“Water is critical for our community,” Suggs said. “Climate change has impacted us. Gov. (Bob) Ferguson also has a Washington state water initiative out to look at the issue statewide. It’s an issue in Eastern Washington and in Western Washington, but, of course, we all have our different issues. Ours is the glaciers; 70 percent of our glaciers are melted.”

In the future, Port Angeles will have to rely on rainwater because snowmelt will no longer be available, she said.

“I know that the city’s working on analyzing groundwater wells, but again, that is a multi-year process and a multi-million-dollar project, too,” Suggs said. “Conservation not only helps the stages … it also helps to keep our infrastructure kind of running a little bit smoother. So conservation also helps with maintaining and lessening the wear and tear on our infrastructure.”

Police vehicles

The council also approved a request Tuesday night for the Port Angeles Police Department to purchase two 2026 Ford F-150 Police Responders in an amount not to exceed $88,978.52. Taxes and accessories for the vehicles will bring the purchase through Peoria Ford from the state of Arizona request up to $177,957.04. Systems for Public Safety Inc. will perform the accessory work on the vehicles.

The vehicles will replace two of the department’s older vehicles, Police Chief Brian Smith said.

“The F-150 Responder is just a better vehicle,” Smith said. “It’s lighter. It’s more modern and safer. It does all the things we need to do. We’ve had a need for a few larger vehicles on the fleet really since before I got here.”

The addition of the new vehicles will free up existing, older vehicles for the new officers the department is taking on through a state grant created by House Bill 2015.

Council member John Hamilton questioned why the vehicles are being purchased from Arizona.

“The police market is very specialized and some dealers are interested in the market, they have the VIN numbers assigned to them, it’s their business,” Smith said. “The buying agreements that don’t live in the state are more about being able to comply with the requirements of contracting and being able to get what you want at an affordable price. The police market’s pretty thin, and if you’re not a big dealer in the market, you’re not gonna make very much profit.”

Funding for the vehicles was planned in the 2026 budget with a line item of $178,000. The money PAPD is receiving through the state grant can only be used on the salaries for the new officers, not the equipment for them, Smith said.

The Ford F-150 Police Responders get slightly better gas mileage than the vehicles they will replace, Smith added.

These larger vehicles also will be safer for officers to operate when conducting PIT maneuvers, resulting in less damage than the smaller police vehicles see from the tactic.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.