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= THE BURN BAN HAS BEEN LIFTED =
Click for more information.
Remember: Big Bend Supersedes Any Lesser Warnings.

Monetary transactions of any kind are not allowed at Board Members Private Homes.
Any payment due to Big Bend LOA MUST be mailed to the Monroe PO Box on the statement.
Be sure to allow ample time for USPS travel times. Only you are responsible for any late payments.

~ President's Corner ~

Big Bend President’s Report:
Fall/Winter 2018

We’ve had a marvelous summer/fall in Big Bend this year. Warm temperatures and little to no rain all summer provided ample opportunity for all kinds of recreation and family fun activities. The National Weather Service advised that 2018 was one of the driest summers ever recorded in the Seattle area. Looking forward to the winter we all know the rain is coming. However, this year is predicted to be an El Nino winter with warmer and drier conditions than average. Nevertheless, it’s time to prepare for darker and gloomier days ahead.

Be Prepared

Daylight savings time has just begun and it seems like our late afternoons have quickly become nights. As winter approaches, it’s time to wrap your outdoor pipes to prevent them from freezing and have a plan when the power goes out from the fierce winds we experience every winter. We can also have snow days and icy roads in Big Bend and river flooding is usually an annual event on the Skykomish. Most important of all during the dark days of winter: be extra careful and watchful for kids playing on or close to our roads.

Big Bend Water Plan

Big Bend now has an approved Water Capital Improvement Plan. It was discussed at the annual home owner’s meeting by the engineering consultants from Grey & Osborne who assisted in its preparation. The Plan provides a prioritized list of projects over the next 5 years to improve and upgrade our water system. It includes a $5/yr. increase in our annual water rates to help fund the projects. If you are interested in more detail, the Plan is posted on the water projects page of this web site.

Wellhead Protection Committee

Big Bend and Cadman continued their cooperative work this year as part of the Wellhead Committee. Cadman’s annual water quality monitoring reports have shown no change in the quality/quantity of the ground water used at their gravel operation over the past 10 years. Big Bend also installed two new probes in our well this fall which allow us to track the same water quality parameters as Cadman. Cadman also prepared an engineering report this year which identifies two locations for a new Big Bend well should our well become unusable. Gravel operations are expected to increase at the Gold Bar site in the years ahead due to the closure of several older sites. Cadman’s 2017 Groundwater Monitoring Report is posted on our web site.

Annual Assessments

Annual assessments were mailed out to Big Bend property owners in September. Thank you to all who have paid the assessments or have set up a payment plan to do so. Remember, payments must be made on time to avoid late fees and potential lock-out of your water. Payments should be mailed to POB 1593, Monroe, WA. 98272. Monetary transactions of any kind are not allowed at Board members private residences.

Parking Stickers

You all received red Big Bend parking stickers and guest passes in the September Alert. The new red sticker should be placed on the rear window of your vehicle so it can be seen from the road. The red sticker replaces last year’s green sticker and is effective through September 30, 2019. Vehicles parked at community parking areas located at Park #1(entrance), Park #2(sports court), or Park #3(end of Fir Road) must have the red sticker clearly displayed. Vehicles without a valid sticker will be subject to towing.

Thank You Jim/Welcome Scott

A special thank you to Jim Popper who served the last three years on the Big Bend Board of Directors. Jim provided good ideas and perceptive input to the Board during his tenure. Jim is now the webmaster for the Big Bend website. Also, congratulations and welcome to Scott Hoskin who was elected to the Board at the annual home owner’s meeting this summer. Scott will serve a three-year term on the Board.

We have much to be proud of in Big Bend. It’s our home and our community and working together we can continue to make it as good as it can be in the future.
We appreciate your ideas and comments at any time. Feel free to leave us a message on the Big Bend messaging center line at (360-793-7852) or send us an email at this address: bigbendtalk@gmail.com.

We wish you and your family a very happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season and new year!

Sincerely,

Your Board of Directors

Big Bend Landowners Association

~ Current Events ~

An Important Message from the Water Manager!

Posted on Jan 16th, 2019

RE: Sulfur Smells.

There have been some comments about the BBLA water smelling like Sulfur this past week.
If you are experiencing this please do the following and if this is still an issue contact BBLA right away so that we can work to address the problem you may be having.

Sulfur smell on a water system is typically from the hot water heater.
When someone is on a private well there are times that the well water can become impacted from nearby wetlands, but this is very unlikely.

#1. is the smell coming from the hot water or cold water?
If the faucet being used is a MIXING faucet (one handle) please test water coming only from a cold water tap only (sometimes the bathroom sink has two handles and thereby two lines). The goal is to be sure that no water from the hot water heater is getting into the mix As a last effort use an outside hose bib if all faucets are mixing faucets.
If the smell is not present when it is only cold water, but the smell is present with hot water, then this is a problem that arises due to the metal heating rods in the hot water heater. There are all kinds of "tricks" to remove the smell but the best is drain the tank and start with fresh water. Often people do this once a year (like changing batteries in the smoke alarm).
If you have questions or do not feel comfortable with this process it will be best to contact a plumber.

Draining the hot water tank:
In all cases turn off the breaker to the hot water heater before doing anything.
Turn off the water coming into the tank (if you do not have a separate shut off turn off the whole house), attach a hose to the drain at the bottom of the tank and make sure the hose gets outside or into a drain, this will be a lot of water. Open a hot water faucet somewhere in the house (bathroom) this will help the water flow more easily.
Open the drain valve, and let the tank drain out, once drained turn on the water valve and allow fresh water to flow all the way through the tank and out for a couple minutes. Shut down the drain valve, remove the hose and let the tank refill before turning on the breaker.

#2. If it is the cold water which actually stinks...
Turn on an outside hose bib which is furthest from the incoming water location (typically the back of the house) and let the water run from a hose for about 1/2 hour. This does not need to run full blast or anything but you want to run through the whole system. Then before the 1/2 hour is up run each tap (Hot and Cold) in the house a couple minutes while the outside tap is still running. This should flush the system

Please notify BBLA if you still have an issue.
It is typical that hot water heaters have this problem on occasion. If you search on line for draining the hot water tank you will see most plumbers suggest doing this as an annual maintenance.

– Kim Peterson WDM

--

9/30/18
This message from our water manager is so huge it gets it own link and window!!
You can read it and/or download the PDF here!

--

In the last 2 weeks we have had very unexpected shut downs of the well.

This was something we experienced in 2008 during the summer and have not had an issue with since that time.

Worst case would be the demand is exceeding the recovery of the well, best case we have some electrical issue that we can address and solve.

I have contacted the well pump company and we are looking at possible solutions.

Meanwhile, as a general conservation issue we want to remind everyone to use water wisely.

Don’t over water gardens and yards because you forget the hose is on. A timer is a great addition to your watering plan.

Don’t let water sprinklers water hard surface (roads, walkways, driveways etc…)

While washing your car in the driveway is convenient using a car wash uses far less drinking water (remember we have to treat every ounce of water that goes into the system) and it is better for the environment to wash your car in a controlled area.

And Pools! If you are going to have a backyard pool please consider filling it on a cold or wet day, fill it late in the evening or early in the morning.

If you see someone else filling a pool, wait till they are done.

We will be looking for the solution and get information out as soon as we have any more.

Thanks

Kim Peterson WDM

Barking Dogs!

Posted on Jun 1st, 2017

Excitement, Fear, or Boredom? Common dog barking issues.