EDMONDS — Last week, Olympic View Sewer District gave its notice of intent to sue Edmonds School District over what it says are long-standing water pollution issues at Madrona K-8 School.
The letter of intent, sent on May 20 to Edmonds School District Superintendent Dr. Rebecca Miner, states the school district is failing to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Washington State’s Underground Injection Control well program.
Curtis Campbell, director of communications for the school district, said in an email on Tuesday the district disagrees with many of the allegations in the notice, including the assertion the district isn’t in compliance with clean water standards.
The notice gives the school district 60 days before Olympic View files a suit over toxic chemicals the sewer district claims threaten a drinking water aquifer.
In January of 2023, Olympic View notified the school district of PFAS contamination in stormwater samples, which threaten to pollute the Deer Creek aquifer.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, are found in hundreds of products: carpets, paints and firefighting foams, among others. The chemicals, nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they take centuries to break down in the environment, also cause serious health issues such as cancer, fertility issues and liver failure, and they affect fetal and child development.
In a May 27 press release, Bob Danson, general manager of Olympic View, reassured community members that the district’s drinking water is still safe. However, PFAS contamination poses a potential long-term threat to Olympic View’s water supply because the Madrona School’s stormwater drains into the Deer Creek aquifer, he said.
After notifying the school district of PFAS contamination in 2023, Olympic View forwarded the data to the state’s Department of Ecology. The school collected its own water samples in 2023 and 2024, which showed unsafe levels of PFAS.
The state department has issued multiple corrective action request letters to the school district, recommending soil removal and replacement.
“Our efforts to work collaboratively with the district were met with continued resistance, leaving us no choice but to pursue legal action to protect the public’s drinking water,” Danson wrote in the press release.
The school district plans to take corrective steps this summer after the school year concludes, Campbell said. Steps will include removing the likely source of the PFAS, an area of soil introduced during school construction.
“We remain committed to fully complying with Ecology’s direction, maintaining transparency, and sharing all sampling data and reports with Olympic View Water and Sewer District throughout this process,” Campbell said.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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