These subdivisions depend on home owner managed community septic drain fields placed near town wells. The scale, design and placement of these unproven drain fields is unprecedented and the impacts are unknown. Fall City’s impeccable drinking water quality is at stake.
Fall City has unique soils and unconfined aquifer, with unlined wells in close proximity to these drain fields. No studies have been conducted to understand the combined impacts or risks of the subdivision’s wastewater treatment methods on groundwater quality. This is a serious public health and safety concern that has been unaddressed so far.
3000 residents depend on the Fall City Water District’s system of wells located throughout town for clean drinking water.
Fall City is located in a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area - a highly specialized designation given in an area that has soils that are highly permeable and are located near drinking water sources. Our aquifers are unconfined and our wells are unlined, which means contamination in one area can travel into the drinking water supply.
Fall City’s soils are highly active hydraulically - meaning large amounts of water flow underground through the watershed, passing through town towards the Snoqualmie River. This movement can bring plumes of septic contamination into the community water supply.
The 8 proposed developments use an unreliable, unproven design for a Large Onsite Septic System (LOSS) that collects community wastewater onto a communal drain field. This approach is not recommended for areas like Fall City, but it is advantageous to the developer because it allows them to maximize density.
Analysis by the water district hydrologist recommends against the use of LOSS in these areas as they concentrate waste water and concentrate the risk to groundwater in the event of a tank, drainfield or system failure.
This developer and their septic designer have a documented history of problems in Fall City. Their first completed development at Arrington Court has had such extensive problems that the State of Washington has yet to hand ownership to the HOA and is still sorting out how to bring the system into compliance.
Only 6 residential LOSS systems are in use in all of King County. These developments bring 8 into a 1/2 square mile area, a concentration that is unprecedented.
The commercial grade systems are to be managed by homeowners, which industry professionals firmly advise against.
Fall City residents need the county and state to intervene and conduct studies to understand the impacts and risks to groundwater quality.
Before permits can be issued the following must be completed:
An updated well-head protection plan from the Fall City Water District, with guidance from the Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water and King County’s Source Water Protection Program.
A hydrology study to document and understand the soils, watershed, water availability, and recharge dynamics in the Fall City area. This does not exist.
The maps below show community wellheads and the underground water systems at risk.
The LOSS systems are within many town wells and our shared water system.
Soils in Fall City are at high risk of contamination.
4 of the developments have large septics placed within the 1 year wellhead protection area.
4 of the developments are within the 5 year wellhead protection area.
All of the developments are on either category 1 or category 2 critical aquifer recharge areas. -
4 of the developments are within a tributary basin.
Fall City has long running issues with draining, including previous development applications turned down based on their inability to perc. Those records have disappeared and not been included in the county permitting process.