# Emergency Water Service and Regional Safety Planning — A Working Committee Afternoon The Bellingham City Council's Public Works and Natural Resources Committee convened on the afternoon of Monday, July 7th, 2025, in the familiar setting of Council Chambers. Committee Chair Hannah Stone was joined by Council Members Lisa Anderson and Jace Cotton for what would prove to be a 45-minute session dealing with both urgent individual needs and regional safety planning. The afternoon had a business-like efficiency — two agenda items, clear presentations, measured discussion, and decisive action where warranted. The committee had before them two distinctly different matters: an emergency request for city water service from a family whose well had been condemned by health officials, and a comprehensive presentation on the newly adopted Whatcom Region Safety Action Plan. Both items, in their own way, illustrated how government functions when faced with immediate human needs and long-term community safety challenges. ## The Emergency Water Connection — When Wells Fail The first item before the committee was Agenda Bill 24591, a request that would have been routine in different circumstances but had taken on urgency due to public health concerns. Scott and Kelly Ronk, who own the residence at 1606 Mount Baker Highway, found themselves in the difficult position of needing city water service for a property located outside the urban growth area — a request the city normally does not grant. Mike Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering, laid out the situation with characteristic technical precision. The Ronks had purchased their property in 2022 as a "permit-ready project," meaning all approvals were in place, including a functioning well that had passed health department testing. They built their home in 2023, moving in with every expectation of a reliable water supply. "Mr. and Mrs. Ronk, as articulated in the agenda bill statement, have had problems with the well that they constructed for their home that was constructed in 2023," Wilson explained. "It's had some contamination issues and some flow issues both." The timing of the water quality deterioration was particularly troubling. According to Wilson's presentation, the problems began to manifest during and after the Washington State Department of Transportation's construction of a new $8.8 million bridge on Mount Baker Highway. The project, which involved demolishing an existing culvert and …