New obstacle in Leque Island plans

Levee material planned for removal on Leque Island, between Camano Island and Davis Slough, to restore Salmon habitat, has islanders concerned about contaminating groundwater in the area’s sole source aquifer. PHOTO BY RICK WOOD In the five years since proposed dike setbacks on Leque Island were first brought to the public, concerns have been raised about diminished hunting access, the loss of a pheasant release site, and the flooding of agricultural land.

Recently, a new concern has surfaced. Saltwater intrusion.

The plan to create a tidal estuary on Leque was cooperatively developed by Ducks Unlimited and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), according to the WDFW Web site.

They envisioned creating an environment that nurtures juvenile salmon as they make the transition from a fresh to saltwater environment, as well as benefiting other fish and wildlife species.

The plan seemed to make sense. The old dikes were rapidly deteriorating, earning Leque its nickname, “Leaky Island.” Habitat was needed for juvenile salmon. No one has shown interest in farming the land.

In fact, since the early 1980s, despite numerous attempts, WDFW “can’t get anyone interested in farming it,” said Lora Leschner, wildlife program manager for WDFW’s North Puget Sound region.

Now, as the permit process moves forward, the Camano Water Systems Association (CWSA) is worried that exposing part of Leque’s surface to tidal waters will contaminate groundwater in the area’s sole source aquifer.

The pros and cons have been issued from both sides of the debate, but perhaps the big issue is best summarized in a comment John Axford, regional engineer for Ducks Unlimited, made during a Snohomish County Agricultural Advisory Board meeting last April.

If the project doesn’t move forward, Axford said, the dikes will breach and the entire island will become a tidal estuary.

That obviously won’t help anybody.

As it stands now, said Bill Phillips, with WDFW, the proposal is to remove a portion of the dike at the south end of Leque, building a new “setback” dike closer to the highway and reconnecting sloughs to the Stillaguamish River, a freshwater source.

The project would open roughly 100 acres to tidewater while preserving a portion of the island for freshwater wetlands and agriculture.

“The interior of the site will have better drainage and provide access to people with limited mobility,” Axford said.

There is also talk of building walking paths along the top of the dike and parallel to the roadway, creating a loop trail approximately one-and-a-half miles long, said Axford.

Leschner said hunting “blinds” could also be built, and the area would be nice for bird watchers, too.

“It would be a place for mixed-recreational use,” she said.

But at what cost, area residents want to know?

Leschner said she understands concerns about the loss of Leque land for farming, even though precious few have tilled it in the past.

“Agriculture is looking to the future. They’re looking to maintain options,” she said, adding that just because land is “agricultural” doesn’t mean that’s necessarily what is taking place.

But farming isn’t the big issue, at least not recently.

“There is concern,” Phillips said, “that this action may cause saltwater intrusion.”

Even so, Leschner, Phillips and Axford feel the research favors their opinion that dike setbacks won’t harm drinking water.

A 1988 United States Geological Survey (USGS) report stated, “Simulations also indicate that aquifers beneath the islands are not recharged by groundwater that moves from the mainland through aquifers beneath Puget Sound except in the area of northeast Camano Island.”

In order for groundwater to move between the mainland and Camano without arriving already contaminated by saltwater, Axford said, it has to be traveling beneath a “confining geological layer.”

Axford feels the same layer that is now protecting any groundwater recharge will continue to protect it from additional tidal waters on Leque.

Even so, Ducks Unlimited commissioned Anthony Burgess Consulting in Redmond to compile a third-party opinion based on a review of pre-existing hydrogeology data.

In his opinion letter to Axford in December, Burgess stated, “based on my review of the documents listed… the proposed Leque Island project will not adversely impact the Camano Island groundwater resources.”

Among the reasons Burgess gave for his conclusion, he noted, “The wells on Camano Island closest to Leque Island are developed in the sea-level aquifer, which is unconfined in the area.”

Burgess also noted that the restored lands would only be under seawater for a limited time during each tidal cycle and the discharge of freshwater from the Stillaguamish River keeps salinity level at less than half that of normal seawater.

Finally, Burgess wrote, “the additional area of inundation following restoration is small in comparison to the areas north and south of Leque Island that are currently tidally inundated.”

In simpler terms, Axford said, “We’re working on an island. It never occurred to anyone that adding to the surface area of the part of the island affected by tides would have any negative effects.”

Leschner said those opposing the plan have made a lot of statements, but so far they haven’t been backed by any credentials.

The contamination of drinking water is a serious concern, though, serious enough that the Island County Board of Commissioners sent a letter earlier this month to Snohomish County Council requesting that the impacts of seawater intrusion into a shoreline solesource aquifer be verified before the project commences.

Preceding the commissioners’ request, CWSA sent their own letter to the director of WDFW, Phil Anderson.

CWSA expressed concern that allowing part of Leque to flood would contaminate the groundwater that may be flowing from the mainland, as well as any vertical recharge that takes place on Leque due to rainwater.

CWSA also wrote USGS, requesting an analysis of the situation.

Steve Sumioka, a hydrologist for USGS, responded to Dale Tyler, the president of CWSA, on Jan. 13.

Sumioka wrote, “Because of the paucity of well data in the area, further study would be required to confirm or refute this possibility (that groundwater from the mainland is recharging the aquifer). Certainly, additional information on subsurface geology and water levels in the area will be needed.”

Ralph Ferguson, a Juniper Beach resident, said “additional information” is all the water association is asking for.

Ferguson, who was a member of planning committee that assembled the Island County Water Resource Management plan in 2005, said the water district isn’t concerned about the relatively minimal effects of tides on Leque when compared to the rest of the island.

“We’re concerned about the quality of water after the dikes are moved, compared to now,” he said.

Ferguson said Leque and the aquifer are recharged by rainwater, too, which has no chlorides. Reducing the surface area that is exposed to rainwater, then, does have a detrimental effect.

“We need to know more,” Ferguson emphasized.

He noted that if the plan goes through, and it does create an issue, there’s no way to go back. It will require incredible amounts of money to pipe in and maintain a water source if contamination occurs.

Leschner said Snohomish County planning committee has reviewed WDFW’s permit applications and sent them back a list of questions. Currently, Leschner and others are working on answering those questions.

“We’re trying to move forward,” Leschner said.

Axford believes they’ll get permits this spring, unless the water districts can gather evidence that saltwater intrusion will in fact harm water supplies.

Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629- 8066 ext. 125 or ohagan@scnews.com.