Clinton Water District race heats up at end

Published 6:00 am Saturday, November 5, 2005

A low-key race for a position on the Clinton Water District board has slipped into the sewer the week before the election.

Physical therapist Doug Brand has challenged 12-year veteran Joan Nelson for her commissioner’s seat. But the future of sewers in Clinton has popped up as both candidates are bringing their campaigns to a close.

Talk of sewers spawned controversy in Clinton in the late 1990s.

Brand, 52, started asking questions several years ago about the survey the water district had done on the viability of installing a sewer system.

While the survey was conducted to assess health-related concerns about septic tanks, Brand and some of his neighbors didn’t think sewers were appropriate for a rural community.

“I had an open mind, but discovered I wasn’t getting clear answers from the water commissioners,” he recalled.

Brand added that county records didn’t show there was an emerging health problem due to septic systems in Clinton.

As the controversy continued, more than 150 people signed a petition asking the commissioners not to go forward with a comprehensive plan which incorporated town sewers.

“They told us they were too far into the plan to stop,” Brand said. “We had a community review and added Option 1, a septic-based option. At this time municipal sewers are not the answer.”

Brand said the sewer issue inspired sewer opponents to make a change on the board.

“We had to impress on the board that they needed a new way of thinking,” he said. “It was decided we needed someone actually on the board and I stepped up.”

Brand and his wife have lived in Clinton 15 years.

“The district is important, though few people realize it,” he said. “The real issue is how the district will manage this fragile resource in the future. I feel we can find a middle ground over any issue where everyone can come together.”

Another concern is the budget. Brand said the district has no real operational budget comparing revenues with expenditures.

“If elected, that’s something I will change,” he said.

Nelson, the incumbent, has pushed back hard on the sewer issue.

She said recent comments about the district and the sewer issue have been unfair.

“This week there was a letter to The Record saying the board wanted sewers in 1999 without notifying their customers. That’s just not true,” Nelson said.

To make her point, she produced the Nov. 11, 1998 issue of The Record with a front-page story about the district’s request for people to attend a meeting on the subject.

She said she knows people are worried about sewers coming to Clinton, but said sewers would be a non-issue if people kept their septic system in good working order.

“In the past, water had to be turned off on three properties. It was necessary for us to examine whether sewers were in the best interests of the district. At this point, they aren’t, but we need to provide options just in case,” Nelson said.

Stioll, she isn’t surprised her seat is being contested.

“There have been suggestions that the water district start monitoring individual septic installations. But that’s the county’s job, and we don’t have the money to fund it.”

Nelson countered her opponent’s concern over public input by observing the district does have a budget, a Web site (www.clintonwaterdistrict.org) and publishes notices in the South Whidbey Record.

Nelson has been a hands-on commissioner at times.

She recalled one night in the mid-1990s, when vandals broke the piping on the valve of a Clinton water tank and thousands of gallons spilled out.

Nelson was there, holding a flashlight, as water district commissioner Roy Simmons and his brother, Carl, managed to repair the damage.

A Clinton Water District commissioner since 1993, Nelson is proud of the positive things the board has accomplished.

“We’ve always been frugal with ratepayers’ money,” Nelson said.

“We have three new water tanks (holding a total of 683,000 gallons) and a new water filtration plant that went on-line in July, vastly improving the quality of the district’s water,” she added.

Commissioners serve a six-year term and receive a stipend of $70 per meeting.

The water district comprises 1,300 acres extending along Saratoga Passage and serves a population of 1,500 to 1,700 in the peak season. There are six wells and four water storage facilities.