Hannah Heights Homeowners Association has secured 1.2 million dollars from the state toward drilling a new well. The other million for the distribution system is pending. According to Sarah Severn, HOA board member, the system is old and in disrepair, prone to leaks, and could potentially cause recontamination.

“It is at the front of the line in priority since it’s an acute public issue. We are working as fast as we can,” said Christopher Pettit, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Manager, Office of Drinking Water Environmental Health Division for the Washington State Department of Health.

It has already been a full year after a well at Hannah Heights was found to have extremely high levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAs or forever chemicals.

The association is the first in the smaller water system categories, and options were limited. Salvaging the well, putting in filters or other similar stop-gap solutions were not feasible due to the high content of PFAs. The cost of drilling an entirely new well is high, so Severen and her neighbors turned to Washington legislators for help.

“Senator Liz Lovelett worked tirelessly to get this through. Fortunately, we (the HOA board) were able to work with the Department of Commerce to put forward the application. We worked with nearly every agency,” Severn said, “Health, Commerce – everyone has been amazing.”

“Forever chemicals is a huge infrastructure issue,” Pettit said, explaining that they are in everything from clothing to nonstick pans, even pizza boxes. As more is known about the health risks and extent of the problem, DOH is expanding its ability to work with neighborhoods and small communities. The Environmental Protection Agency recently implemented more stringent laws than the states, meaning more communities across Washington, and the nation will be affected. According to Pettit, extra staff at the Department of Health has been hired to help test, monitor, and engineer short-term solutions and the availability of long-term mitigation funds across the state. According to Pettit, the Department of Health has been communicating with Gov. Jay Inslee’s office about the price tag and believes it could cost an estimated billion dollars to address the chemicals.

To illustrate the degree of the impacts, Pettit was attending a national conference where he and his counterparts discussed forever chemicals when the Journal spoke with him.

“We are figuring out financing and laws,” he explained.

Current state law requires commercial wells now be tested for PFAs, the law that led to the discovery of the high PFA numbers at the Hannah Heights well. The well was shut down immediately and families that once drank and watered their garden from that well had to come up with an alternative water source. While the test results shook the neighborhood, not knowing would have been worse.

“We recommend everyone be aware. Knowledge is power. Everyone should know the chemical makeup of what is in their water,” Pettit responded when asked if private wells should be tested as well. Remediation for private wells is limited, he explained, and is part of a broader conversation. “Between federal and state agencies, plus homeowner associations, the mobilization between federal and state agencies and homeowner associations has been incredible. It shows what can happen when you get the right people together you can tackle a problem. We are quite proud of that,” Pettit said.

According to Pettit, there is flexibility built into Hannah Height’s funding, and should the neighborhood begin the project immediately, they could be reimbursed.

“As long we are in communication with the wonderful people in the neighborhood, and we are, and the work is aligned with the funding scope, reimbursement is possible,” Pettit explained.

However, the community has been trucking in water for over a year and Severn and the neighbors will likely continue to do so for another year while funding is secured and a viable well is drilled. A test well will have to be drilled first, to ensure it can pump enough water, and the water is not contaminated, she added. The Department of Ecology will be evaluating the site and assessing clean-up soon.