Water Resources Advisory Board

The Water Resources Advisory Board held its June 2025 meeting focused primarily on a detailed presentation and tour of the Academy Street Stormwater Facility, a partnership project between the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County. This $1.17 million facility represents both the complexities of inter-jurisdictional cooperation and the technical challenges of Lake Whatcom watershed protection. Storm and Surface Water Manager Jason Porter provided an extensive background on the facility, which began as a vision in 2013 when a lakefront residential property came up for sale. The project exemplifies the long-term commitment required for stormwater infrastructure, taking over a decade from initial conception to full operational status. The meeting highlighted significant lessons learned from the facility's troubled initial construction in 2015, which required an additional $420,000 in modifications after operations revealed multiple design flaws. The facility now successfully treats runoff from over 100 acres of mixed land use, removing an estimated 40 pounds of phosphorus annually from water entering Lake Whatcom. The presentation served as both an educational tour for board members and a case study in adaptive management, demonstrating how initial failures can lead to innovative solutions and improved inter-agency cooperation.