Planning study to look at water, sewer upgrades for west Blaine development

Blaine City Council unanimously approved a planning study for water and sewer infrastructure needs in west Blaine in anticipation of the upcoming Avista and Inverness housing developments.

Council contracted David Evans and Associates on September 25 to conduct the study for no more than $35,700, according to city documents. The study will update existing capacity, growth predictions and proposed improvements for the area in the 2005 General Sewer Plan and 2019 Water System Plan. The planning study will also delineate individual responsibilities for both developers and the city.

The water and sewer plans cited that the city would need capacity improvements for the areas where Avista, formerly known as Semiahmoo Highlands, and Inverness are expected to develop, though other projects being built in west Blaine could also be impacted. Avista could  develop up to 500 units and Inverness plans to develop about 65 units.

Avista, located northwest of the Horizon development on Semiahmoo Parkway, is expected to submit its planned unit development and preliminary plat application to the city later this month, developer Wayne Schwandt said. Half of Avista is in the county, but Schwandt said the city property would be built out first.

Inverness also has not received city approval for the subdivision, adjacent to the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club.

“I think they’re on the right track and it’s something that needs to be done,” Schwandt said of the city planning for water capacity. “It’s something that’s been on the books for many years. The fact that it hasn’t come up over those prior years is the buildout of the total anticipated number of units in Resort Semiahmoo did not come to pass.”

The 2019 water plan predicted a storage capacity deficiency beginning in 2021, according to a city memo. City manager Mike Harmon said 71 more units have been built in west Blaine than the forecasted supply in the 2005 sewer and 2019 water plans, but improvements that have since been made, such as those to the city’s wellfield, are not reflected in the plans.

There are about 140 lots in west Blaine that could be built on right now, Harmon said. The fire marshal has water requirements that are stacked on the city’s requirements, but if those were consolidated, Harmon said the city could potentially supply water to 250 additional units.

“It’s not a matter of whether there’s enough water in the system. It’s, ‘is the system, the way it’s currently constructed and configured, able to make water available not just to our project, but to [others]?’” Schwandt said.

The sewer plan, which includes Avista and Inverness, anticipates that several gravity pipe segments will be over capacity and others will be between 75 and 100 percent capacity once the area is completely developed, according to city documents. The sewer plan doesn’t include pipeline improvements or lift station capacity updates for the developments.

“We can serve the developments that are online today without an issue,” Harmon said. “But as we look at our ability to serve future growth, that’s what we want to make sure we can serve, and the developers want to make sure we can serve it, before they build the infrastructure necessary to support the homes.”