An open letter to the Seattle Port Commission and Ching-Pi Wang, Department of Ecology:

Over the years there has been much discussion and litigation threats over contamination in water from Sea-Tac International Airport. Consultants report that the Port has made tremendous efforts to eliminate contamination from surface water; however, every five years these permits come up for another renewal under increasingly stricter standards under the Federal and State "Clean Water Acts."

Theoretical tests suggest that numerous periodic clay barriers and gravel leading down to the aquifer prevent poisoned water from reaching the drinking water aquifers. However water obeys the laws of high school physics and seeks its own level. There is no guarantee that poisons and heavy metal will be filtered out by sand 30 years. Layers of clay are tilted. Water follows the tilt.

Testing to determine actual water flow is costly and could require the use of dyes, which would ruin the drinking water aquifer. It was not until recent times that old wells were required to be sealed and even then the sealing cannot be guaranteed. These old wells are like holes in a clay sieve. Some almost forgotten well sites have buildings on top.

Consultants suggest that the current storm rain water coming from the 2,400 acres controlled by the Port is clean and to drinking water standards for the next five years.

Costly man hours, expensive taxpayer funds and airport profits are expended to constantly rework this almost unworkable problem. The end result is that after all this rework expense, every five years, this water is directly and indirectly wasted by being flowed down Des Moines Creek and the surface aquifer into Puget Sound. As wells are normally placed to approximately align with a surface river, this clean water is mixed with polluted water already in the aquifer and could flow down to jeopardize three to four Highline Water District drinking water wells, the Water District 54 wells and the dilution well used by Midway Sewer District.

Again, as suggested by consultants, your water is above or below drinking water standards when you complete processing.

May I suggest that you work with Highline Water District to assure that the water meets State, Highline and Federal drinking water standards.

Give the clean water to Highline to get these water costs off your books, put the water poisoning issue behind you and, more importantly, put this water to public use before it is wasted.

Dan Caldwell,

Highline Water District

Commissioner, Retired

Des Moines