Last year the state cut funding for local programs that provide testing and technical assistance to “Group B” water systems.

In San Juan County, Group B systems, each serving three to 15 households, provide drinking water to 11 percent of the county’s population. That is five times the state average.

In order to continue supporting these water systems, the Health and Community Services Department has proposed an annual operating fee of $100 for each of the 251 Group B water systems in the county. The fee would fund water quality monitoring and information, help in developing preventive maintenance and operation programs, a survey of each system every three to five years, and staffing for technical support and site visits.

Health and Community Services has scheduled workshops on Orcas and San Juan to give the public an opportunity to discuss the proposed fee and the services the small systems need.

All workshops will run from noon until 2 p.m.: Jan. 20 at the Eastsound Senior Center and Jan. 21, on San Juan Island, Legislative Building, front meeting room.

For more information, contact Mark Tompkins or Vicki Heater at Health and Community Services: 378-4474, markt@sanjuanco.com, vickih@sanjuanco.com.