WASHINGTON: Vancouver
Local Water Protection in Vancouver
Background
Vancouver, Washington sits on the north bank of the Columbia River directly across from Portland,
Oregon with Mount St Helens to the north and the Pacific Coast about 90 miles to the west. The
City of Vancouver reliably supplies drinking water to approximately 210,000 residents (more than
64,000 water service connections), making it the fourth largest public water system in Washington
State. Its water service area encompasses approximately 43,800 acres, including areas within city
limits and portions of unincorporated Clark County.
Vancouver's drinking water is supplied entirely from ground water resources. An average of 28
million gallons every day is pumped out of 40 wells that take water from four different aquifers: the
Troutdale, the Upper and Lower Orchards, and the Sandy River Mudstone. The Upper and Lower
Orchards aquifers were formed from the catastrophic floods of the Pleistocene period and are
composed of sands and gravels. Both Orchards aquifers are unconfined. Beneath the Upper and
Lower Orchards is the Troutdale aquifer. The Troutdale is composed of semi-consolidated sand
and gravel with some interbedded fine-grained material. Below the Troutdale formation lies the
Sandy River Mudstone aquifer composed mostly of fine-grained material.
Potential contaminants of Vancouver's source water include petroleum products, metals, and
chemical contaminants, such as synthetic and volatile organic chemicals. Pollution has occurred
from industrial processes, gas stations, dry cleaners, auto repair shops and even urban stormwater
runoff. Other potential water contaminants include pesticides, herbicides and microbial
contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which can originate from failing septic systems and
wildlife. Of these contaminants, commercial and industrial hazardous substances pose the largest
threats to Vancouver's drinking water.
Because rivers, streams and ground water aquifers in and around Vancouver have been negatively
impacted by pollution (resulting in three Superfund sites in the city), citizens and regulators were
motivated to develop local regulations to better protect both surface and ground water.
Priority Contamination Threat
The priority contamination threat is from commercial and industrial hazardous substances.
Local Involvement and Developing the Water Protection Plan
A committee was established in 2002 to develop regulations and guidelines for citywide water and
wellhead protection. The committee represented the concerns of a variety of community groups.
Participants involved directly in ordinance development included representatives from City water,
stormwater, and long range planning departments, fire and legal departments, the Washington
State Department of Ecology, the Columbia Business Center, the Port of Vancouver, a local
environmental action group, the regional emergency response center (9-1-1), and Clark County's
water quality department.
This committee reported to the City's Planning Commission made up of local government officials
and participants from various neighborhood groups, businesses, environmental groups and other
agencies. The innovative Water Resources Protection Ordinance was approved and signed by the
City Council in 2002 and became law in February 2003. The City and the technical committee that
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designed the ordinance received the State of Washington's Environmental Excellence award for
work done in developing the water protection provisions.
Management Measures
To better manage potential contamination threats to water, the City's Water Resources Protection
inspector identifies facilities of concern and then schedules visits to observe the site layout,
business practices, and material management. Since its inception, City inspectors have visited
more than 250 businesses, industries, and residential sites. If a facility is not in compliance with
the ordinance the inspector will typically outline the reasons why a certain situation is a threat to
the environment and then work with the owner or manager on solutions. If necessary the City's
program can impose civil penalties; however, most facilities are willing to correct issues of non-
compliance and enforcement fines are rarely imposed.
Contained within the ordinance are: 1) a listing of minimum best management practices that apply
to all businesses and residents in the city, 2) classification procedures for classifying facilities that
manage hazardous materials, 3) increased standards, practices, and reporting requirements for
classified industries, 4) a prohibition on developing certain high-risk industries (such as chrome
plating operations and hazardous waste disposal sites), and 5) the establishment of "special
protection areas" around municipal water stations.
A database was developed to manage, store and display facility information, business contacts,
past inspections, investigations, permits held, and prior compliance issues. A Geographic
Information System (GIS) Atlas was also created which allows the community to locate and view
inspected sites. The GIS application displays storm and sanitary sewer layers, wellhead protection
zones, and aerial photographs. The GIS web link can be found on
www.citvofvancouver.us/waterprotection.
Other steps taken to ensure support and communication for the program in the community have
included recognition ads listing cooperative businesses in the local newspaper, a public opinion
survey and focus group, public-focused paint management and disposal guidance, and volunteer
storm drain stenciling outreach.
Costs/Benefits
Costs: Almost any size community can afford to develop a local water protection program. Rough
cost estimates can be made based on prevailing wages in a community and the following:
• Ordinance development - This could take a few months or up to a year, depending on the
level of commitment from members of the development committee. The community
regulatory agency proposing the ordinance will need one person on a part-time basis to
facilitate the gatherings, document the progress and write the ordinance. Other members
from industry, environmental groups, etc., will typically volunteer their time.
• Inspections - How many inspectors will the program need? As a rough approximation, the
number of facilities that manage significant quantities of hazardous material (in drums,
tanks, or containers over 25 gallons) will be somewhere between .1% and .2% (.001-.002)
of the general population. Based on this, a community of 100,000 would anticipate that
there would be around 150 sites to inspect. Our experience shows that a fulltime inspector
can manage 200-300 businesses and industries.
• Tools and Equipment - Not much is needed. The inspector should have a vehicle and a
computer with database software for storing facility information. The City of Vancouver
offers our Access database as a model. A digital camera is helpful for documenting sites.
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Benefits: The benefits to maintaining clean drinking water and healthy aquatic life are obvious but
not easy to quantify. In the worse case water can become so polluted that it is necessary to find
and develop another water source or clean up the current source. This can be extremely expensive
and time consuming. Since clean water requires less expensive treatment, even minor reductions
in pollution can result in significant cost benefits.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
All program related inspections and compliance measures are stored on the program's database
for easy retrieval and monitoring. As of March 2007 water protection inspectors have conducted
formal inspections on 173 facilities, investigated 85 complaints/referrals, and provided technical
assistance to 27 businesses and residents.
Some of the measurable program-related facility improvements include:
• Secondary Containment - Ten facilities have installed new or improved existing secondary
containment around tanks and containers to eliminate the risk of spills into the storm
system, onto the ground, or to a nearby water body.
• Floor Drains - Floor drains represent a direct threat to surface and ground water. In 17
facilities, typically related to vehicle maintenance, indoor floor drains were found connected
to either a storm system draining to local streams or connected to a ground infiltration drain
(a drywell). In all cases these drains were plugged with cement or reconnected to sanitary
sewer. Vancouver's program demonstrates that pollution risks from floor drains can be
effectively addressed and remedied locally.
• Fleet Vehicle Washwater - Fleet washing is a concern if the wash and rinse waters drain to
a river, stream, storm system, or to the ground. After visiting and working with sites that
wash vehicles, the count of weekly vehicle washings being discharged directly to surface or
infiltration drains was reduced from 689 to 45, with treatment specified on the remaining
vehicle washing. Based on program direction, six facilities made connections to sanitary
sewer.
• Hazardous Materials - Many problem sites have been quickly remedied by moving drums
and storage containers indoors or into more protective storage areas.
For further information, contact:
Richard Holland
Water Protection Program Coordinator
City of Vancouver
(360)487-7199
Richard. Hoiland@ci.vancouver.wa.us
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