History of JBWD

The first lots in the Juniper Beach area to be platted were the front beach lots in 1919, 1920 and 1921.  The Juniper Beach Cooperative Water Association water system was started around 1943 with a small hand dug well and a small distribution system of wood stave pipe and 2" steel pipe.  These distribution lines were later upgraded to 6" steel and 4" transite pipe in the 1950's.

In 1960, the Juniper Beach Cooperative Water Association filed for additional water rights and constructed Well #2.  Both Well #1 and Well #2 were located up on Juniper Beach Road and fed a gravity type of water distribution system.  

In 1990, the water cooperative was reorganized into a county water district, now known as Juniper Beach Water District.  This newly formed water district is an approved water district within the State of Washington with its service area boundaries approved by the legislative authority of Island County and the State of Washington.  As an approved water district, JBWD is was established and authorized for the purposes of furnishing water to customers within its described boundaries.  A primary purpose of becoming a water district was to become eligible to apply for public works grants and loans in the State of Washington.  

The formation of JBWD made it possible to apply for grants and loans to drill new wells and move its primary source of water withdrawal further from the shoreline to avoid salt water intrusion into its water source.  In 1994 and 1995 two wells were drilled near Ranch Road and Ell Road.  These were destined to become the primary water withdrawal source for JBWD.  Property was purchased off of Ell Road in order to build a water treatment building and water storage reservoirs.  

In 2005 as part of a Developer Extension Agreement, the ownership and water rights of the well at the BayView Properties (TR Camano) commercial development was transferred to JBWD.  JBWD agreed to provide water service to the project in return for the needed improvements at its water treatment building.   The upgrades included additional filtration tanks and fire-flow pumps.

In 2013, JBWD drilled another well off Smith Road.  The inclusion of this well into the existing water rights was part of the initial Phase Two Construction Plan developed in the early 2000's.  

Completed in 2014, the Lands Hill Water Rehabilitation and Consolidation Project is a project that took several years of planning and months of construction.  Initial planning began with meetings in 2005, obtaining a WA State Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Grant and Loan and construction in early 2014.   The project involved the annexing of the Lands Hill area into the JBWD and its retail service area boundary.  Part of this project included the formation of a Utility Local Improvement District (ULID).  The project allowed for the updating the Lands Hill water system and consolidated ownership and maintenance responsibilities to JBWD from the Lands Hill Water Association.  This acquisition eliminated a small water system and improved the overall oversight of the sole source aquifer.  The result is the better management of the aquifer and the improvement of overall water quality.

During the 1990's Island County conducted a wastewater facilities planning study to develop solutions of improved wastewater treatment and disposal for the Juniper Beach area to replace the individual on-site systems in which at many times were deemed inadequate.

Below are the documents pertaining to the study.  At that time, the Juniper Beach Water District was in the planning and initial implementation stages of addressing the water quality issues with its water system.  The Juniper Beach Water Cooperative Association became a special purpose water district (Juniper Beach Water District) so that it could apply and reap the benefits of state and federal loans.  Because of the high cost of a community wastewater system, the residents of the area had little interest in pursuing the formation of a sewer district at the same time it was forming a water district to solve its water quality issues.