City of Bellingham Water Resources Advisory Board (WRAB)

The annual report concept emerged from a customer utility survey completed in late 2024, which revealed that while residents were generally satisfied with water service quality and reliability, many were unaware that their utility bills covered wastewater, stormwater, and Lake Whatcom protection services. The survey also highlighted concerns about rising costs and affordability, creating an opportunity for better communication about how rate increases are being invested. The facilitated session broke the board into three working groups to brainstorm report content and communication tactics. Board members, encouraged to think beyond their technical expertise, generated ideas ranging from budget breakdowns and risk assessments to storytelling approaches and social media strategies. Key themes included the need for clear financial transparency, education about the interconnected nature of water systems, and making complex infrastructure information accessible to general audiences. The exercise revealed strong interest in addressing community misconceptions, particularly around deferred maintenance narratives, and in clearly communicating the connections between drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and Lake Whatcom protection. Board members emphasized the importance of proactive rather than reactive messaging, visual storytelling, and creating content that resonates with both renters and homeowners. The city plans to use this input to develop templates and graphics, with PRR Consulting providing continued support. Staff hopes to release the first annual report by mid-2026, ahead of the next planned utility rate increases. #

- **Minutes Approval:** Unanimously approved with correction to include Chair Rick Eggerth in the roll call - **Annual Report Development:** Board provided extensive input through facilitated workshop session; no formal votes taken - **Next Steps:** City will use board input to develop report templates and graphics with PRR Consulting support - **Timeline:** First annual utility report targeted for release by mid-2026 #

"We did find that the majority of the residents that were surveyed knew that drinking water was part of their water bill, but not as many were aware of the wastewater and stormwater and the Lake Whatcom protection fees that were also included in our utility bills." **Jenny Thacker (PRR), on the report's purpose:** "It's public facing. It is a way to really talk to people about what the, in this case, the utility is doing with the resources that the public has entrusted with the utility." **Board member on financial transparency:** "They understand clear understanding of what the rate increase is going towards what that's paying for." **Rick Eggerth, on communication approach:** "I think the word you use, most important is the story, make it a relatable story." **Board member on system connections:** "I mean, this is Lake Wacom, the faucet and the sewage, right, like I used to teach at community college, and I was just amazed at how people don't know we get our drinking water, they're at least younger adults." **Michael Unger, on timeline expectations:** "What I've learned in working in public works is it's hard to find lines on things because they usually change when as soon as you think you know what they are." #

**Meeting ID:** BEL-WRA-2026-02-24 # Meeting Overview On a winter evening in February 2026, the Bellingham Water Resources Advisory Board convened at Pacific Street Operations for what would prove to be one of their most engaging meetings yet. Chair Rick Eggers called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM, with board members both present in person and joining virtually due to illness. The agenda was focused primarily on developing an annual utility report—a new initiative aimed at improving transparency and communication with Bellingham utility customers. The meeting marked a transition point for the advisory board, introducing newest member Kristen Haider while welcoming back familiar faces. Rather than the typical technical presentations, this meeting would be different: an interactive workshop facilitated by consultants from PRR to gather input on what should be included in the city's first annual utility report. The collaborative format represented a shift toward more engaged civic participation and reflected the city's commitment to transparency following recent utility rate increases that had raised customer bills significantly. ## Introductions and New Member Welcome Chair Rick Eggers opened with introductions, identifying himself as the board chair before turning to fellow members. The roll call revealed a board with deep technical expertise: Fiona McNair brought consulting experience in site assessments and regulatory support spanning nearly 30 years. Brett Beaupain represented RH2 Engineering with 28 years of experience in civil engineering, specializing in water resources, sewer, storm systems, and roads. John Peppel contributed international business experience across manufacturing, engineering, and IT. Francesca Harbison worked as a practice lead at Evergreen Stormwater, focusing on water resources compliance. Two members joined virtually due to illness: Kirsten McDade, working as North Sound Waterkeeper for the environmental nonprofit Resources, and Alicia Toney from HNTB, who manages environmental compliance for WSDOT infrastructure projects. Carl Benson, a three-year Bellingham resident from Alaska, brought chemistry and hydrology expertise from consulting work in permitting, spill response, and contaminated site remediation. The meeting's most significant introduction came with newest board member Kristen Haider, joining from the Happy Valley neighborhood. Her background proved particularly relevant: biology and ecology training, current regulatory work with chemical products at Tittel Vision Products, and previous experience with the conservation district doing dairy policy work. "I used to work for the conservation district doing dairy policy work," Haider explained, establishing her credentials in environmental regulation. City staff included Michael Unger as Deputy Director of Public Works, Riley Grant from city staff leading the evening's exercise, and several facilitators from PRR consulting who would guide the interactive workshop portion of the meeting. ## Annual Utility Report Development Workshop The evening's centerpiece was an extensive collaborative session focused on developing Bellingham's first annual utility report. Riley Grant provided context, explaining how the initiative emerged from a utility customer survey completed about a year earlier—the first such survey the city had conducted. "We completed a customer utility survey, our utility customer survey, which was the first time we'd completed something like that, for our utility customers," Grant explained. The survey had revealed important insights about customer awareness and priorities. While most residents knew drinking water was part of their utility bill, fewer understood that wastewater, stormwater, and Lake Whatcom protection fees were also included. Overall satisfaction with utility service was high, particularly regarding reliability and water quality, but dissatisfaction centered on rising costs and affordability concerns—a finding that "doesn't surprise anybody that lives in Bellingham to hear that," Grant noted. Customer priorities emerged clearly from the survey: providing safe drinking water, ensuring reliable water supply, and keeping bills affordable ranked highest. Areas needing improvement included affordability and infrastructure grades. For future priorities, customers wanted the city to stay above regulations, plan for climate resilience, and offer more bill assistance programs. ### Workshop Goals and Framework PRR facilitator Jenny guided the discussion on what an annual report should accomplish. The document would be public-facing, designed to communicate how the utility uses resources entrusted by the public, and serve as an educational tool. Critically, "it's not a budget document, although there can be some budget information as part of that transparency," Jenny clarified. The report would be optional, not fulfilling regulatory requirements, but serving as another communication channel with constituents. Board members quickly identified key goals for the report. Fiona McNair suggested communicating "the trade-offs that the city is facing in terms of the cost versus the cost savings." John Peppel recommended a probability and risk chart using green, yellow, and red indicators: "Green's going well, you can talk about that if you want. You know, you can manage red things and things we think we should do something about." Francesca Harbison emphasized accountability: "Clear understanding of what the rate increase is going towards what that's paying for." Rick Eggers added the importance of personalizing the information with "semi anecdotal examples of what might happen if the rate increases don't come along." The conversation revealed strong interest in storytelling as a communication tool. "I think the word you use, most important is the story, make it a relatable story," Eggers emphasized. Brett Beaupain advocated for visual elements: "I like pictures in my story." Carl Benson highlighted the need to address public understanding gaps: "when Riley was going over the survey results, it seemed like watershed protection was something a lot of people didn't know much about. And so that but that's critical for maintaining the system." ### Content Development Through Small Groups The workshop broke into three small groups to develop specific content and tactics recommendations. Each group approached the challenge from different angles while addressing common themes around transparency, education, and engagement. The financial transparency theme emerged strongly across all groups. One group focused on budget breakdowns, suggesting creative visualizations like river metaphors where "you could start with the large river as your water bill and then that breaks out into the your drinking water, your wastewater, your stormwater, your watershed protection." This group also emphasized education opportunities about components that customers knew less about—wastewater, stormwater, and Lake Whatcom protection. Another group concentrated on current versus future state analysis, highlighting "features and benefits" of utility investments while connecting regulatory requirements with voluntary improvements. They proposed using watershed acquisition programs as concrete examples of utility work that residents could understand and appreciate. The online group, facilitated separately due to technical constraints, focused heavily on addressing financial concerns and rumors. "I think a lot of us in this room know what operations means, but the other people don't know exactly what that means," observed Kristen McDade. This group recommended addressing "scuttlebutt" about deferred maintenance and explaining why rate increases were necessary now, particularly given inflation impacts. ### Tactical Approaches and Communication Strategies Discussion of tactics revealed sophistication in thinking about modern communication challenges. Social media emerged as a key platform, with suggestions for pulling "nuggets" from the main report for individual posts. "It could be neat to be able to pull nuggets out of this using the same graphics and just post one thing, like the drinking water nugget, the stormwater nugget," McDade suggested. Humor appeared as a surprisingly popular tactic. McDade noted how regulatory agencies like WDFW and Ecology had successfully used humor in their communications: "they've been kind of doing these, like more humorous posts. And it's, they're funny, because they're like talking about the serious issue like poaching, but they kind of turn it into something funny." Visual storytelling received significant attention, with proposals for infographics, animations, and compelling photography. One group suggested showing photos that "help quantify the effort of the city," citing street sweeping waste piled higher than city trucks as an example of making abstract quantities concrete and relatable. Comparisons emerged as another effective tactic. The groups proposed regional statistics to show how Bellingham's services compared to other jurisdictions, and simple cost comparisons like "how much does a cup of water costs out of your faucet versus a bottle of water from the store." ## Technical Infrastructure Issues The workshop discussions revealed sophisticated understanding of technical challenges facing the utility system. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) received particular attention as both an educational opportunity and an accountability issue. McDade, with her water quality expertise, emphasized the importance of reporting CSO events: "I was just really shocked that we had a big CSO event on December 10. And I couldn't find it anywhere, anything." The conversation highlighted both the technical reality of CSO events and the communication challenge they represent. "During large rain events, raw sewage gets pumped out to the bay at C Street. It's pretty simple," McDade explained, while noting the need to educate residents about staying out of the water during these events and what triggers them. System interconnections emerged as a critical educational theme. "Making those connections between, you know, Lake Whatcom, the faucet and the sewage," McDade observed, noting that many residents, particularly younger adults, don't understand that Lake Whatcom provides their drinking water or how the systems connect through the wastewater treatment plant to the bay. ## Voting Process and Priorities The workshop concluded with a dot-voting exercise where board members identified their highest priorities for the annual report. The results reflected the evening's discussion themes, with strong support for financial transparency, educational content about system interconnections, and tactics that make complex information accessible to general audiences. Budget breakdown information received significant support, along with tactics like river-based graphics that could visualize how utility bills divide among different services. Educational content about lesser-known utility components—particularly stormwater and watershed protection—also ranked highly. The voting process reinforced the importance of visual communication strategies, with support for infographics, comparisons with regional utilities, and storytelling approaches that humanize infrastructure challenges and victories. ## Implementation Timeline and Next Steps Riley Grant outlined the path forward for developing the annual report, acknowledging the challenge of setting firm timelines in public works: "What I've learned in working in public works is it's hard to find lines on things because they usually change when as soon as you think you know what they are." The aspirational goal was to release the report by mid-year, balancing the need for timely information with thorough development. The city planned to continue working with PRR consultants who had been supporting communications around utility rate increases. Grant noted that their communications strategy had been effective so far: "our communications around the rate increases so far have been effective and we haven't had an onslaught of the hate mail about the rate increases." The timeline connected to the broader utility planning cycle, with rate increases implemented in phases and comprehensive planning updates feeding into future rate decisions. This annual report would establish a template for ongoing transparency and communication as the utility system continued evolving to meet growing demands and aging infrastructure challenges. ## Water System and Sewer Plan Updates In closing business, Michael Unger and Steve Bradshaw provided updates on major planning processes. The water system plan remained in regulatory review, with feedback received from both the Department of Health and Department of Ecology. "We repackaged it and then we're doing some final edits that's turned into another careful look at the water rights piece of it," Bradshaw explained. The water rights scrutiny connected to the ongoing adjudication process, requiring coordination between the water system plan and legal proceedings. "We have to ensure that our water system plan is consistent with what we're presenting in the legal adjudication process. We can't have the two conflicting in each other," Unger clarified. For the comprehensive sewer plan, the city had selected Carollo Engineers and Jacobs Engineering as the consulting team and completed scope negotiations. "We're hoping to start with meaningful meetings in March. We'll get that process rolling. It's a 32 month schedule right now," Bradshaw reported. The planning timeline aligned strategically with the rate increase schedule, ensuring that both the water system plan and updated comprehensive sewer plan would inform the next wave of rate decisions. The scope would also examine the stormwater system, though no new planning was anticipated for that component. ## Closing and Future Engagement The meeting demonstrated a new model for advisory board engagement, moving beyond traditional staff presentations to collaborative problem-solving around communication challenges. The workshop format allowed board members to contribute their diverse professional expertise while thinking as community representatives rather than technical specialists. Chair Eggers expressed appreciation for the facilitated format: "Thank you very much for that. Thank you. For the facilitation and engagement. It was fun. Yeah, it was pretty cool." The positive response suggested that similar collaborative approaches might enhance future board discussions on complex utility challenges. The evening concluded with appreciation for both in-person and virtual participation, acknowledging the flexibility needed to maintain board engagement during illness and other challenges. The commitment to transparency and community engagement reflected in the annual report development process positioned Bellingham's utility system as a model for public sector communication in an era of increasing infrastructure needs and public scrutiny of government spending. As board members departed, they left behind a rich foundation of ideas for the city's first annual utility report—a document that promised to bridge the gap between technical necessity and public understanding in Bellingham's ongoing effort to maintain and improve essential water services for a growing community.