Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
On December 20, 2022, Sallal Water Association lifted its temporary water moratorium after correcting a mechanical error from their water meter that led Sallal to overestimate water use. With these corrections, Sallal states, via a memo prepared by their consultant Gray & Osborne, Inc., that they have limited additional water capacity to serve new and additional customers. The memo also states that “Since water use can vary from year to year, due to changes in weather patterns, consumer behavior, and DSL [distribution system leakage], we would recommend that Sallal be cautious with the allocation of the remaining water connections.” Given this analysis, the City remains concerned about how much additional capacity is available and whether that will support the community’s needs now and into the future.
The City has retained Terra Property Analytics, LLC (Terra) to continue work to assess the value of Sallal Water Association. As a certified third-party appraiser, Terra is working now to estimate the fair, objective market value of the private, member-owned co-op assets that are available and known to the City.
While the City had hoped to host an open house at the end of this year, we want to share the most up-to-date information with all of you and are waiting on a few more details from the appraiser. We look forward to hosting an open house in early 2023 to share the latest information, next steps, and offer opportunities to answer questions in person.
Moving forward, the City will continue to coordinate with Sallal on the options detailed below. We will post regular updates to this website and other outlets as soon as more information becomes available.
The illustrations below show the City of North Bend and Sallal Water Association's current water supply systems, and two different options for a future system - a water supply agreement and system consolidation. If a water supply agreement were executed, the City would sell Sallal water for their homes and businesses and Sallal would sell the City mitigation water. If consolidation were to occur, the City would purchase Sallal and own and operate both systems.
Note: Sallal Water Association was in an emergency moratorium from June 21, 2022 through December 20, 2022.
2022 Water Capacity - City of North Bend and Sallal Water Association
North Bend can increase water supply to Sallal as soon as the Sallal Board of Directors approves the offer to purchase. While Sallal is a privately-owned water system, it has legal responsibilities to provide water within its service area, which includes areas within North Bend’s city limits and within North Bend’s urban growth area.
For a message directly from Mayor Rob McFarland, please see the August Quarterly Message from the Mayor.
The City recommends consolidation of the two water systems for the following reasons:
* The Growth Management Act (GMA) is a series of state statutes, first adopted in 1990, that requires fast-growing cities and counties to develop a comprehensive plan every 10 years to manage their population growth. The comprehensive plan creates growth management areas within a City for concentrated urban growth.
To learn more, please visit the Water FAQ page where you will find a wide range of questions and answers regarding both the East North Bend water update, as well as general City water FAQs.
The following resources provide helpful background information on this decision.
Stay up to date on this topic by signing up for "Notify Me." Receive news alerts from the City of North Bend.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us:
Bre Keveren City of North Bend Communications Manager bkeveren@northbendwa.gov (425) 888-7669