WATER AGREEMENT: Cascade, four cities to sign agreement Feb. 5
Published 12:29 pm Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Cascade Water Alliance announced Feb. 3 that they and the cities of Auburn, Bonney Lake, Buckley and Sumner will sign an agreement Feb. 5 that ensures water for the four cities for the next 50 years.
The agreement will be signed at a reception hosted by Cascade Water Alliance at the Lake Tapps Power House office in Sumner.
At the reception, members of the Lake Tapps Task Force, elected officials, and the many other interested partners who worked tirelessly over the years to help ‘save the lake’ will celebrate its new beginning as a municipal water supply.
The agreement, several years in the making, is the result of regional collaboration following Cascade’s purchase in December 2009 of Lake Tapps from Puget Sound Energy (PSE) for future municipal water supply. Under the landmark agreement, Cascade will leave water in the White River that will be available for the four cities to use when they apply for a water right from the State Department of Ecology. In addition, Cascade will create a Lake Tapps Municipal Advisory group, consisting of the mayors of the four cities and Cascade members to share issues regarding the management of Lake Tapps.
Cascade already has agreements with the Lake Tapps Homeowners’ Association regarding protection of lake levels and with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians ensuring in stream flows in the White River to protect fish.
The public is invited to on Open House Feb. 10 at North Tapps Middle School to learn more about the agreements, Cascade Water Alliance and the future of Lake Tapps.
