Annual Lake Whatcom Joint Councils and Commissioners meeting to take place on March 31

Officials to hear about condition of the lake and ongoing efforts to improve it

March 17, 2021 - by Mark Gardner, Legislative Analyst and Cynthia May, Environmental Outreach Specialist

The Lake Whatcom Management Program will host its annual Lake Whatcom Joint Councils and Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held remotely. Members of the Bellingham City Council, Whatcom County Council, and the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District Board of Commissioners will be in attendance. The meeting will be open to the public and aired on BTV.

“The County and City have been accelerating efforts to clean up and protect Lake Whatcom. There is still lots to be done, and this is a great opportunity for the public to hear about it,” said County Councilmember Todd Donovan, Chair of the County’s Natural Resources Committee. Michael Lilliquist, Chair of the City Council’s Public Works and Natural Resources Committee, noted that “we started to turn the corner from simply trying to prevent more harm, to actually reversing and undoing some of the harm we have been doing over the years.”

Last year was the first year in the new Lake Whatcom Management Program 2020-2024 Work Plan. Program staff will provide updates on significant 2020 accomplishments and plans for 2021.

Topics to be discussed at this meeting include:

  • Lake Whatcom water quality: WWU Institute for Watershed Studies Lake Whatcom Water Monitoring Program Annual Report
  • Lake Whatcom Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL): Response update
  • Summary of 2020 program accomplishments
  • New Whatcom County Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility: Purpose, revenues, and funding priorities

Public comment is scheduled for the end of the meeting. Additional resources including the Lake Whatcom Management Program 2020-2024 Work Plan, the 2020 Lake Whatcom Management Program Progress Report and other documents can be found at https://lakewhatcom.whatcomcounty.org/news.

Detailed information can be found five days prior to the meeting at https://cob.org/gov/council/meetings.

Members of the public can attend via the following link: https://cob.org/cc033121

Webinar ID: 929 0430 1107

Webinar passcode: 238410

Telephone: Dial 1 253 215 8782


Media Contact

Renee LaCroix, Assistant Public Works Director
Public Works – Natural Resources
City of Bellingham
(360) 778-7966 or rlacroix@cob.org

Gary Stoyka, Natural Resources Manager
Whatcom County Public Works
(360) 778-6218 or GStoyka@co.whatcom.wa.us

Justin Clary, General Manager
Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District
(360) 734-9224 or justin.clary@lwwsd.org


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