Real Briefings
Water Resources Advisory Board
The Water Resources Advisory Board received comprehensive briefings on three major water quality issues facing Bellingham. The evening's primary focus was an introduction to nitrogen reduction requirements for the Post Point wastewater treatment plant, presented by Carollo Engineers. This issue represents potentially unprecedented capital investments—estimated at $500 million—to comply with new state requirements aimed at protecting Puget Sound water quality. The board also heard an overview of the city's stormwater management program from Jason Porter, highlighting Bellingham's above-and-beyond approach to federal compliance and successful grant acquisition totaling $52 million since 2012. Additionally, staff provided an update on the Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan, which received 307 public comments and requires additional time for comprehensive response and revision. Public comment came from Carrie Burnside, Silver Beach Neighborhood Association President, requesting collaboration opportunities for watershed stewardship as neighborhood plans are decoupled from the comprehensive plan update.
No formal votes were taken during this information and discussion meeting. The session focused on presentations and board education on three water quality progra…
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**Nitrogen Reduction at Post Point:** Carollo Engineers explained that the 2022 Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit requires Post Point to evaluate nitrogen reduction measures. Currently, wastewater treatment plants contribute less than 10% of nitrogen in Puget Sound, but they represent the most controllable source. The permit requires evaluating two scenarios: "AKART" (All Known, Available and Reasonable Treatment) and water quality-based alternatives targeting 3 mg/L effluent limits.
The challenge is defining what constitutes "reasonable" treatment. Historical precedent from the 1990s considered three factors: affordability, site feasibility, and proven technology. Nitrogen removal would require doubling the capacity of aeration basins and potentially using the entire Post Point site. The consultant presented a conceptual timeline showing potential implementation in the 2030s, with a 10-year planning and construction period.
Board members questioned the effectiveness of focusin…
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**Carrie Burnside (Silver Beach Neighborhood Association):** Requested collaboration opportunities with the city and Water Resources Advisory Board for watershed stewardship, particularly as neighborhood plans are decoupled from the comprehensive plan.
**Board M…
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**Anne Conklin, on nitrogen sources:**
"The vast majority of the nitrogen is coming from other sources, not the wastewater treatment plant...but controlling nitrogen that comes from wastewater treatment plants, that's something that we as engineers can do."
**Board member, on program effectiveness:**
"I can get quite confident. If you spend a lot of money, you'll eventually get that nitrogen down. But I don't see the correlation directly or stage gate where you can prove that if you get it do…
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- **October 2024:** Staff will return with revised Lake Whatcom Work Plan draft and comment matrix - **December 31, 2025:** Nutrient Reduction Evaluation due to Department of Ecology - **Monthly basis:** Potential updates to …
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The board now has comprehensive understanding of three major water quality challenges facing Bellingham. The nitrogen reduction issue emerged as a potentially transformative infrastructure challenge requ…
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# Nitrogen Crisis Looms Over Lake Whatcom as City Confronts Unprecedented Wastewater Upgrade
The Water Resources Advisory Board met September 24, 2024, to confront a daunting reality: the City of Bellingham faces potentially the largest capital investment in its history to remove nitrogen from wastewater at Post Point, with costs that could approach half a billion dollars and reshape how residents think about utility rates.
## Meeting Overview
The evening meeting at Pacific Street Operations drew board members into a complex technical discussion that began with algae blooms in Puget Sound and ended with projections of massive construction projects stretching into the 2040s. With consultants Tadd Giesbrecht and Anne Conklin from Carollo Engineers leading the presentation, the session marked the start of what will likely be years of difficult decisions about how to balance environmental protection with financial reality.
The agenda also included updates on stormwater management and the Lake Whatcom five-year work plan, but the nitrogen discussion dominated, consuming most of the meeting's hour and a half. Board members present included Brett Beaupain, Benjamin Cairns, Rick Eggerth, Martin Kjelstad, Kirsten McDade, Fiona McNair, John Peppel, Laura Weiss, and Francesca White, along with city staff from various departments.
## The Nitrogen Challenge: From Ocean to Treatment Plant
Anne Conklin opened the technical presentation by explaining why nitrogen matters in the first place. In marine environments like Puget Sound, nitrogen acts as the limiting nutrient that feeds algal blooms. When those algae die and decompose, they consume dissolved oxygen in the water, creating dead zones that stress fish populations.
"The vast majority is from environmental sources, like the Pacific Ocean or rivers, or atmospheric deposition," Conklin explained, showing that wastewater treatment plants contribute less than 10% of the total nitrogen load in Puget Sound. But that 10% represents the portion that engineers can actually control.
The Washington State Department of Ecology has been studying this issue for two decades, documenting dissolved oxygen depletion across Puget Sound. Maps from 2006, 2008, and 2014 showed purple and orange areas where dissolved oxygen fell below standards for weeks at a time, primarily in southern Puget Sound. Bellingham Bay appeared relatively healthy by comparison, showing up in yellow and orange zones indicating only occasional problems.
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### Meeting Overview
The Water Resources Advisory Board met on September 24, 2024, receiving major presentations on nitrogen reduction requirements at Post Point wastewater treatment plant, stormwater management programs, and the Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan. The meeting focused heavily on the unprecedented scale of wastewater infrastructure investments that may be required due to new nitrogen regulations from the state.
### Key Terms and Concepts
**Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit (PSNGP):** A 2022 state permit requiring all wastewater treatment plants discharging to Puget Sound to evaluate nitrogen reduction measures to protect dissolved oxygen levels.
**AKART:** All Known, Available and Reasonable Treatment - a Washington State standard that requires utilities to implement nitrogen reduction measures deemed "reasonable" by their community, considering factors like affordability and site constraints.
**Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN):** The measure of nitrogen compounds in wastewater effluent, currently around 30 mg/L at Post Point but potentially required to drop to 3 mg/L under future regulations.
**Nutrient Reduction Evaluation (NRE):** A comprehensive study due December 31, 2025, that Post Point must submit evaluating preferred nitrogen reduction alternatives and their costs.
**TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load):** Federal Clean Water Act requirement setting pollution reduction targets for water bodies like Lake Whatcom, driving phosphorus reduction efforts.
**NPDES Permit:** National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit regulating stormwater discharges, renewed every 5 years with increasingly stringent requirements.
**POST Media:** Phosphorus-Optimized Stormwater Treatment system developed by Bellingham as an open-source, cost-effective alternative to proprietary treatment systems.
**Dissolved Oxygen Depletion:** When excess nutrients cause algae blooms that consume oxygen as they decompose, stressing fish and aquatic life in Puget Sound.
### Key People at This Meeting
| Name | Role / Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Brett Beaupain | WRAB Chair |
| Ta…
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