Birch Bay Water and Sewer District

Water conservation guides in effect

By Tara Nelson

Blaine and Birch Bay residents are being asked to voluntarily cut back on their water usage for the rest of the summer.

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District (BBSD) has joined with the city of Blaine to introduce voluntary water guidelines between June 15 and September 15 to encourage residents to water on alternating days, before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m. and only in 30 minute intervals.

Residents with odd numbered street addresses are being asked to limit watering to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The watering days for even numbered street addresses are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The city and district have designated Mondays as non-watering days to allow reservoir levels to recover after the weekend.

The guidelines are part of the recommended 2008 water conservation activity for the Whatcom Water Alliance, a newly formed regional water conservation group in Whatcom County.

District spokesperson Emily Resch said the watering schedule will help to reduce the impact of peak-use periods on city of Blaine and BBWSD water supplies.

“By reducing the amount of drinking water used for landscape irrigation, we can diminish the burden on our water supply and defer future facility costs.”

Resch said during the summer, Blaine and Birch Bay experience peak demands up to three times more than the average demand during winter months.

Fill material that was removed from main construction projects is available at no charge.
With advance notice and an appointment, the District will load trucks 5 yards or greater in volume, for free.
For more information, contact the Operations' Manager, Mike Sowers, at 371-7100

 Rate Increase at the District