Our island. Our environment.

A proposed connection between two Bainbridge Island water systems would provide supplemental summer water to Kitsap Public Utility District’s South Bainbridge customers. Future increases in that supply would be reviewed against customer growth, conservation results and progress toward developing a new water source.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the revised agreement on October 27. Staff say the conservation language was added following the council’s October 13 discussion.

KPUD has been seeking additional supply because some South Bainbridge wells have become less productive while demand rises during summer. The utility temporarily paused new water connections earlier this year. In an August customer update, KPUD said conservation was helping but would not, by itself, provide enough additional capacity for future needs.

The proposed connection, called an intertie, would link the city’s Winslow water system with KPUD’s South Bainbridge system on Eagle Harbor Drive near the head of Eagle Harbor. It would also allow emergency water sharing in either direction throughout the year, subject to availability.

The agreement calls for the city to provide up to 40 gallons per minute during May 15 through September 15 in the first year. Starting in the third year, the seasonal supply could increase by up to nine gallons per minute annually for five years, reaching a maximum of 85 gallons per minute.

Those increases would undergo annual review. The utilities would consider growth in water connections, efforts to conserve water and their results, and progress toward a new source well. Water would remain subject to availability, with reductions during severe drought on the same basis as restrictions for other customers.

KPUD would lead design, permitting and construction and pay the project costs. Both utilities and the Washington State Department of Health would have to approve construction plans before work begins.

The agreement would expire after seven years or when KPUD develops a new water source, whichever comes first. Approving it would establish the terms for sharing water; construction and the required approvals would still have to follow.

The council packet includes the revised agreement. KPUD also maintains a South Bainbridge update page.

UPDATE: The City Council voted 6–1 on October 27 to authorize the water-sharing agreement. Read our follow-up report on the approval and continuing conservation concerns.

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City staff propose changes to compostable food-service requirements

Bainbridge Island food businesses could be required to use home-compostable versions of additional cups, lids and serving containers in 2027. At the same time, city staff propose easing that requirement for certain takeout trays and breakfast platters because of cost.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the proposal on October 27.

Staff recommend adding cold-beverage cups, beverage lids, fry cups, plates or bowls measuring 3.5 inches or less, cups for hot food and ice cream, and lids for those cups to the list of items that businesses must provide in home-compostable form.

Staff also recommend removing takeout and catering trays and breakfast platters with multiple compartments or one large compartment. Their report says the home-compostable versions no longer meet the city’s cost test.

The city’s published evaluation method uses a 15 percent cost-difference threshold to determine whether home-compostable products are sufficiently affordable to require businesses to purchase them. Staff generally compare their prices with industrially compostable equivalents, using the midpoint of the surveyed price range for each type of product.

Removing the trays and platters from the mandatory list would give businesses more purchasing options. They could use industrially compostable products or recyclable alternatives that meet the city’s remaining requirements. Businesses could also continue choosing compliant home-compostable versions.

The distinction concerns how the products break down after use. Home-compostable products can decompose under nonindustrial conditions. Industrially compostable products require the controlled conditions of a commercial composting facility. Home-compostable items also meet the City’s standards, but are not required.

Cost is one of three factors the city considers when reviewing the list annually. Staff also assess whether suitable products are available from at least two manufacturers and whether they perform adequately, including complaints about leaks or other failures that could harm people or property.

The proposed resolution identifies January 1, 2027, as the effective date. Council adoption is still required.

Several details in the council packet need clarification. The staff recommendation lists fry cups, while the resolution lists fry papers. A supporting table refers to hot-beverage cups where the recommendation and resolution specify cold beverages. Some attachments retain references to 2026, and the agenda calls for adoption while the staff recommendation calls for forwarding the resolution to a later meeting.

Businesses should check the final adopted list before changing their purchasing practices.

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Bainbridge Island is seeking emergency replacement of two pumps at the Winslow Wastewater Treatment Plant after equipment problems left only one reliable pump to discharge treated water into Puget Sound, according to documents prepared for the October 27 City Council meeting.

In an October 16 memorandum, City Manager John Mauro reported that one pump had failed and a second was deteriorating. One pump can handle low summer flows, but “at least two are needed during the rainy season,” he wrote.

The memo warns that failure of the remaining reliable pump, or wet-weather flows beyond its capacity, could cause treated wastewater to overflow into the Wing Point neighborhood. The memo does not report an overflow.

The preliminary replacement estimate is about $150,000, including tax and contingency, for two pumps and associated equipment that controls their speed. Staff say sewer funding is available; the final cost will depend on the scope and contractor pricing.

Staff reported the second pump’s deterioration on October 14. Replacement had previously been planned for council consideration in late November or December. Mauro’s memo documents authorization to proceed with emergency procurement, and the October 27 agenda separately asks the council to authorize that procurement.

The same agenda includes a separate $86,337.46 purchase of three harmonic line filters. These protect electrical equipment from power disturbances. Staff report that two are partly functioning and one has failed. The packet does not establish a connection between those failures and the discharge-pump problems.

The council meeting begins at 6 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, October 27, at City Hall, with remote access listed in the meeting materials.

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Bainbridge Island is proposing to expand wetland protections to cover qualifying wetlands unintentionally created by road construction. The change would allow more areas to qualify for protection by eliminating an exclusion in the city’s wetlands definition.

The existing City code excludes wetlands that formed after July 1, 1990, as an unintended result of building a road, street or highway. Exhibit C of proposed Ordinance 2026-15 would delete that exclusion. A wetland could then qualify for protection even if road construction caused it to form.

An area would still have to meet the city’s wetland definition, which generally requires waterlogged conditions frequent or prolonged enough to support vegetation adapted to wet soil. The amendment does not identify which properties would be affected or how many additional acres could qualify.

The proposal would leave other exclusions in place. Artificial wetlands intentionally built on previously nonwetland land for purposes such as drainage, stormwater detention or wastewater treatment would remain excluded. The distinction is how the wetland formed: the change concerns wetlands that developed unintentionally because of road construction.

The draft ordinance says city staff identified the wetlands change while reviewing the Washington Department of Commerce’s critical areas checklist. The ordinance also addresses permit review procedures, conversion of existing buildings to housing and the definition of family.

The City Planning Commission public hearing was held for the ordinance on Thursday, October 22.

UPDATE: The City has continued the public hearing on Ordinance 2026-15 to November 12, 2026, at 6 p.m. Written comments may be emailed to pcd@bainbridgewa.gov by 4 p.m. that day. All times are Pacific.

UPDATE: The City has reissued its environmental-review notice for Ordinance 2026-15, with a new comment period of October 28–November 12, 2026, ending at 4 p.m. Pacific. This replaces the October 30 deadline. Staff inadvertently failed to upload the materials to Secure Access Washington, although the notice appeared on the City’s website and was emailed to relevant state agencies. The City extended the period to ensure an opportunity to comment. Email comments to pcd@bainbridgewa.gov. The November 12 Planning Commission hearing remains scheduled during the meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific.

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Lost Valley Trail opened this month, completing a walking connection from the Head of the Bay toward Fletcher Bay Road and the wider island trail network. The Parks & Trails Foundation confirms the project’s October completion.

The mile-long trail connects across 40 acres of public open space. Its 200-foot boardwalk was the final construction element. The city says the boardwalk protects the Cooper Creek watershed while providing access through the seasons; the foundation identifies Cooper Creek as a salmon-bearing stream.

The route gives the open-space acquisition a continuous public trail connection. The city owns Lost Valley, the foundation funded the project, and the Park District built the boardwalk under an agreement with the city.

The work follows decades of planning and land agreements. According to the foundation’s project history, the city used Open Space Bond funds in 2004 to purchase three properties and four trail easements at the Head of the Bay. Informal paths developed, but the route had not been formally improved or adopted.

The foundation approached the city in 2022 with a proposal to fund the work. Additional easements completed the route between the Head of the Bay and Fletcher Bay Road, with connections at Carmella Lane and Ridge Lane. Trails developed to the west, including the Kojima Trail and the Vincent Road connection to Gazzam Lake, helped extend the larger network.

For residents, the new segment provides another way to reach parks and neighboring areas on foot. The foundation describes connections extending toward Crystal Springs, Schel Chelb and Lynwood Center. Its current project page also identifies Waypoint Woods near the ferry terminal as the next major gateway project, with stairs and trail improvements planned.

The completed trail brought Bainbridge Island’s public trail network past 50 miles, according to the project partners. The wooded link provides a designated route and boardwalk through the watershed, connecting preserved land with places residents can reach on foot. The trail network’s map can be found here.

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Bainbridge Island’s proposed two-year budget would put $100,000 into a rain garden and cistern rebate pilot while continuing support for solar installations and electric bicycles. The proposal goes to a preliminary public hearing on Tuesday, October 27, before the City Council decides the final spending plan.

The public works budget notes allocate $50,000 to the rebate pilot in each of 2027 and 2028. They also propose $43,000 over the two years for water conservation outreach and $31,000 for a rainwater cistern at City Hall. Together, those items make up $174,000 identified for groundwater management actions.

A separate stormwater package includes $50,000 in 2028 to encourage stormwater and greywater reuse, as well as $8,000 that year for a stormwater tree canopy goals policy. These are proposed budget allocations; the document does not itself establish an application window or eligibility rules for a household rebate.

On climate spending, the executive department’s notes propose $25,000 annually for Solarize Bainbridge, $15,000 annually for the e-bike voucher program and $60,000 in 2027 for a greenhouse gas inventory.

The water investments address a resource on which the entire island depends. The city’s groundwater plan describes groundwater as the source of water for residents, workers and visitors, as well as an important support for streams and wetlands. Its approach considers geology, climate projections, land use and population together.

The plan’s management actions call for developing conservation goals, evaluating previous efforts and promoting rainwater harvesting. That makes the budget process a point at which residents can examine which parts of the broader water strategy would receive funding. A management plan and an adopted spending authorization serve different purposes.

The proposed budget totals $154.5 million for 2027–2028, compared with $144.3 million for the preceding biennium, according to the city’s September announcement. That total covers city operations and investments well beyond the environmental programs described here.

Tuesday’s hearing is part of a council meeting beginning at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Madison Avenue North, with remote participation through Zoom. Written comments can be sent to council@bainbridgewa.gov until the hearing closes, unless the council extends the period. The city’s budget calendar anticipates a second hearing and possible adoption on November 10.

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