PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Department of Community Development has denied a Marrowstone Island environmental group’s appeal of the Public Utility District’s shoreline permit needed for a project to pipe water to the island.
A lawyer for Conserve Water First said the group’s next legal move would be to file an appeal of the permit with the state Shoreline Hearings Board.
Conserve Water First is opposed to building a public-water system its members fear would attract development and destroy the island’s relaxed character.
There are also arguments over the Chimacum Valley aquifer, wetlands, soils, the shoreline, water rights and water capacity.
With too little water on the island, some residents have installed rain-water catchment systems at their homes to decrease their dependence on wells.
But other islanders want a public water system because their wells have been contaminated by saltwater intrusion.
