Residents, Navy at odds over golf course watering
»Play Video
OAK HARBOR, Wash. -- Whidbey Island residents worry a local golf course could leave them high and dry.
They're upset that the Department of Ecology is giving the Navy a permit to use millions of gallons of well water to irrigate a local golf course.
The Gallery Golf Course at Oak Harbor is owned by the Navy, but it's open to the public. Right now the Navy buys water from the city to keep things green, but that's about to change.
The Navy got a Department of Ecology permit to use as much as 39 million gallons of well water each year, which is the same water resident Jan Helwig uses.
"I am not scientific. I am just me. I mean, what I knew about water two months ago is you turn this little knob and water came out," Helwig said.
Every summer, Helwig is told to reduce water use. That's the same time the Navy wants to irrigate the golf course.
"Why in the world would someone want to pull that much water from the ground during the dry season," Helwig said.
The Navy has been working for a permit for two years. Helwig and her neighbors made no input because they didn't know that state law only required notice to be given in the legal section of a local newspaper.
Bill Bloch also uses the well water, and he said he was never contacted by the Navy or the Department of Ecology about the issue.
Bloch said if the aquifer gets too low, it could suck in salt water or gunk from a nearby superfund site.
"The Navy does understand the concerns of the neighbors, but we followed all the requirements of the Department of Ecology and we understand they don't feel we will have an issue with the well," said Navy spokesperson Kim Martin.
Officials also said the state permit calls for constant monitoring of both the quality of the water and any impact on the aquifer.
Bloch wants more reassurance.
"You'll be fine, trust us," he said. "Well, we'd like to believe them. We really would."
The neighbors are still fighting, and Bloch said he wants promises the Navy will pay if the golf course turns into a hazard for their water supply.
The Navy said it has a right to use 39 million gallons of water, but will only use a fourth of that amount.
In response to the story, Dan Partridge with the Washington Department of Ecology issued this statement:
"Ecology issued the water right for the Navy’s golf course irrigation well after meeting all legal requirements for public notification and after more than a year of research by a highly regarded hydrogeology consulting firm. That consultant was hired by the Navy to study the effects of groundwater withdrawals from the well on neighbors’ wells. In addition, at Ecology’s request, the consultant’s work was 'peer reviewed' and verified by a second consultant.
"Ecology’s hydrogeologists agree with the consultant’s conclusion that it is highly unlikely that impairment of any well currently in use will occur as a result of the Navy’s water use. If it did, the Navy would be required to reduce, or stop pumping from its well.
"Ecology issued the permit for the Navy’s well only after determining that 1) groundwater for irrigating the golf course is available, 2) impairment to existing water rights is highly unlikely, and 3) irrigation of a golf course qualifies as a 'beneficial use' of the state’s water."
They're upset that the Department of Ecology is giving the Navy a permit to use millions of gallons of well water to irrigate a local golf course.
The Gallery Golf Course at Oak Harbor is owned by the Navy, but it's open to the public. Right now the Navy buys water from the city to keep things green, but that's about to change.
The Navy got a Department of Ecology permit to use as much as 39 million gallons of well water each year, which is the same water resident Jan Helwig uses.
"I am not scientific. I am just me. I mean, what I knew about water two months ago is you turn this little knob and water came out," Helwig said.
Every summer, Helwig is told to reduce water use. That's the same time the Navy wants to irrigate the golf course.
"Why in the world would someone want to pull that much water from the ground during the dry season," Helwig said.
The Navy has been working for a permit for two years. Helwig and her neighbors made no input because they didn't know that state law only required notice to be given in the legal section of a local newspaper.
Bill Bloch also uses the well water, and he said he was never contacted by the Navy or the Department of Ecology about the issue.
Bloch said if the aquifer gets too low, it could suck in salt water or gunk from a nearby superfund site.
"The Navy does understand the concerns of the neighbors, but we followed all the requirements of the Department of Ecology and we understand they don't feel we will have an issue with the well," said Navy spokesperson Kim Martin.
Officials also said the state permit calls for constant monitoring of both the quality of the water and any impact on the aquifer.
Bloch wants more reassurance.
"You'll be fine, trust us," he said. "Well, we'd like to believe them. We really would."
The neighbors are still fighting, and Bloch said he wants promises the Navy will pay if the golf course turns into a hazard for their water supply.
The Navy said it has a right to use 39 million gallons of water, but will only use a fourth of that amount.
In response to the story, Dan Partridge with the Washington Department of Ecology issued this statement:
"Ecology issued the water right for the Navy’s golf course irrigation well after meeting all legal requirements for public notification and after more than a year of research by a highly regarded hydrogeology consulting firm. That consultant was hired by the Navy to study the effects of groundwater withdrawals from the well on neighbors’ wells. In addition, at Ecology’s request, the consultant’s work was 'peer reviewed' and verified by a second consultant.
"Ecology’s hydrogeologists agree with the consultant’s conclusion that it is highly unlikely that impairment of any well currently in use will occur as a result of the Navy’s water use. If it did, the Navy would be required to reduce, or stop pumping from its well.
"Ecology issued the permit for the Navy’s well only after determining that 1) groundwater for irrigating the golf course is available, 2) impairment to existing water rights is highly unlikely, and 3) irrigation of a golf course qualifies as a 'beneficial use' of the state’s water."
