Ames Lake Water Association – How Our Water System Came to Be
As the beauty of the Ames Lake area was discovered and the Eastside became more populated in the 1950’s and 1960’s, more and more vacation cabins were being used for extended periods and more new homes were being built in the Ames Lake/Tolt Hill area. The idea of an area wide water system sprang up in the mid-1960s and led some Ames Lake area residents to petition the King County Board of Commissioners to form a local water district. Before then, early residents had to bring potable water from outside sources or have their own wells drilled. Water well drilling on Tolt Hill has always been a “hit or miss” proposition with a number of “dry wells” over the years. Some residents around the lake even ran pump lines to the lake to obtain non potable water.
However, some residents opposed the formation of the water district, saying that the population of the area didn’t justify it, and that feasibility of a system using wells was questionable. Those opposed were informed they could have their properties deleted from the proposed district.
Ames Lake Water Association (ALWA) is born
Later, residents also evaluated the creation of a private water company and a water utility cooperative. By the late 1960s, the residents decided to form a water utility cooperative – and in April 1969, the Ames Lake Water Association (ALWA) was born. A Board of Trustees was elected, and then created by-laws and Articles of Incorporation, engaged an attorney and an engineer, and applied for a construction loan from the Farmers Home Administration. The loan was obtained in December of 1969. Thus, the Ames Lake Water Association started as a federally funded rural water cooperative.
Planning and design of the system continued through 1969, and, by February 1970, construction began. A & J Utility Contractors of Bellevue was the general contractor. The engineering firm of Lee Johnson & Associates, based in Evertt, administered the construction contract. Original ALWA Board members Jim Hickman and Fred Cartozian represented the Association during the project. Some of the residents, now members of the Association, pitched in to dig ditches and help install the first of the water mains.
Water service began for some members in May 1970. At that time, the Association had 87 members. The Ames Lake, Ames Lake Vista and Ridgehaven areas were included in the new system service area. The Vista Well No. 1 located adjacent to the current Association office was one of the original two wells that supplied the water system. Construction of the system was completed in early 1971.
The new ALWA Board
The first Board President was Gene Peters, and the first Secretary, Renny Lillejord, who eventually became the Association’s Manager for many years. The Board consisted (and still consists) of seven elected members, each normally serving three-year terms. Early Association board meetings were held around an old card table in the cramped Vista well building.
Annual meetings were held from the Association’s inception. The annual meetings typically included reading of minutes, financial reports, manager’s reports, and election of Board Trustees (later, Directors). These meetings provided Association members the opportunity to learn of water system improvements and business operations, as well as to connect with each other.
Over time, the annual meetings grew to include additional information on regional water supply issues, water use efficiency and information on water quality and the origin of the members’ groundwater. Membership in the Association transfers with the home/property and so over time as property owners changed, there have been a wide variety of characters from a real rocket scientist to TV celebrities and professional athletes who have been members of the Association.
In the early years of the Association, the annual meetings were held at the old Vincent Schoolhouse on West Snoqualmie Valley Road and also at various locations in Fall City, Carnation and Redmond. The Association office was initially located in Redmond but was then moved to rental space (a small metal garage/building owned by the Fall City Water District) in Fall City where it stayed for many years. Annual meetings are now held at the Association’s new office and operations building located at 27905 NE 33rd Street near Ames Lake.
Improvements to the water system
Many improvements were made to the water system since its inception. In 1988, a new well (Marshall Well located east of the lake) along 290th Avenue NE and a 205,000-gallon storage tank were added to the system.
By 1989, 20 years after the Association was formed, the number of members was nearly 600. Management and operation of the system continued under Renny and his company, L & R Systems, later known as Satellite Management Services. Another new tank (158,000-gallon capacity) and the American Hills Well came on line by 1991. The American Hills well was the first well located in the southern portion of the Association’s service area and was a significant improvement to the water system.
By 1994, the 25th year of the Association’s existence, membership had grown to 840, and the system’s coverage area was up to nearly 10 square miles. Soon after, the Daniels Ranch and Quail Creek plats were added to the system. The Association also assumed ownership of a well in Daniels Ranch drilled by the developer. And of course, for 25 years the Association had been adding water mains and supply services to new members joining the Association.
As we remember the 25th year of the Association, it’s a good time to remind ourselves that a water utility is not just about supplying water for your coffee and shower in the morning. One of the founding principles of early water systems was to supply fire suppression water for fighting fires in addition to potable water. If the Association just had to build a water system to supply members potable needs, it could be a much smaller (in pipe diameter and water storage) and less costly system than the larger diameter pipes, pumps and hydrants to meet fire flow requirements and the significant water storage to keep fighting the fire. Thankfully, the Association’s founding members thought some firefighting capacity would be a very good idea for those living in remote forested settings. In the early days of the Association, water storage tank management to maintain adequate levels for firefighting and domestic needs sometimes took precedence over outside watering during hot summer days.
Neighborhood signs in the early days (1970-1980’s). Fire protection took priority over outside watering during hot summer days.
Regulations and water rights
Over the years, the Association has had to comply with many new regulations and water supply related issues. These include development of Comprehensive Water System Plans, Water Conservation Programs, Wellhead Protection Plans and Emergency Management Plans. A Board member and later consultant to the Association, Bob Pancoast, was instrumental in addressing these regulations and communicating them to the Association members. Bob also initiated Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of the Association’s facilities and applied for grant funds from the Department of Ecology that financed the initial telemetry systems within the ALWA system.
As the community of Redmond and surrounding region continued to grow, the Ames Lake/Tolt Hill area became a very desirable area – close in to the emerging “High-Tech” industry but with a “rural/country feel”. The Ames Lake/Tolt Hill area became the location for several “Street of Dreams” new homes projects and upscale developments began to occur in the Association’s service area. These larger homes built on landscaped (and irrigated) acreage used significant amounts of water. After years of battling and negotiating with Ecology and Tribes for water right issues, it was clear that additional water rights in the Snoqualmie River Valley (WRIA #7) were not going to happen. The Association had to get more efficient with what they currently had in water rights. With this ongoing expansion of the Association’s membership, water conservation in light of restricted water rights from the Department of Ecology became an increasingly important goal. ALWA was one of the early regional adopters of Water Use Efficiency Plans and programs.
Transitioning to an internal management structure
In the mid-2000s, the Association began the transition to an internal management and operating structure with the Board’s desire to provide “a well-considered set of checks and balance, self-governance & operation and transparency”. Previously, Satellite Management Services was the contracted business manager and certified water system operator of the Association. Satellite Management Services was a family-owned business (Renny and his brother “Butch” Lillejord along with Renny’s daughter and son in the later years). They serviced many of the water associations and small water systems in the upper and lower Snoqualmie Valley for years. Satellite Management Services also provided services for the Sallal Water Association, a “sister” federally funded water cooperative formed under the Farmers Home Administration. The Sallal Water Association also transitioned to a new self-governing and staffing basis concurrently with ALWA. A mutually beneficial back-up system still exists in this long term “partnership” between Sallal and ALWA.
The Board proceeded to initiate detailed business and engineering analyses of the system and to directly hire in house personnel to manage the business office and field operations. First, Sharon Bakke was hired as a part-time administrator to serve the Association and the Board of Directors. The Board initiated the transfer (from Satellite Management Services) of the Association’s business records and office operations directly to the Association. Scott Mitchell was brought on in fall of 2005 as the water system Manager/Operator. The following summer, Scott Hemingway succeeded him as the Field Operations Manager. The Board has also continuously relied on a number of consultants: Richard Jonson has provided excellent legal counsel to the Association and Board for many years; several professional engineers including John Hastig of Gray & Osborne, Warren Perkins and after Dick Heintz the original engineer for much of the early stages of the Association; a hydrogeologist, Robert Pancoast, who worked on numerous groundwater and water rights related issues; and various economic consultants on an as needed basis.
The consulting engineering firm of Gray & Osborne identified a number of capital improvement projects that were planned through the Comprehensive Water System Plan and implemented, including addition of two new storage tanks. These improvements helped the Association to comply with building and safety codes, as well as to meet state requirements for water flows to fight fires. The Association initiated additional telemetry projects for gathering real time information on the performance of the system’s wells, and also the computerization and automation of office systems.
In 2008, Scott Hemingway was promoted to be the Association’s first General Manager. Jeremy Reier was hired in March of that year as Field Operations Manager. The Association began planning an emergency intertie with the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, which was completed in 2009. Also in 2009, the Board began looking into the feasibility of moving the Association’s office from the rental space on Fall City Water District property to a building that would be constructed and owned by the Association.
In 2010, the Association began installing “radio-read” meters to replace the old manual reading meters. The radio read meters allow faster, more efficient and more accurate monthly meter data collection. The replacement effort was completed by 2013. What once took several days with two staff members to “read meters” is now easily accomplished by one staff member in the morning of a single day with improved accuracy.
Kristina Myers began as the new Business Manager early in 2012, and a few months later, Bob Pancoast became the new Water System Manager. The Vista Well/Booster project, which was the largest project ever undertaken to date by the Association, was completed in 2013. This project was a key component in modernizing the system and improved water pressure in several areas.
A resource for the Ames Lake community
Final planning and permitting for the current office and operations building came more into focus in 2015. By constructing its own building within the service area, the Association desired to improve business and field operations, reduce emergency repair times, improve the Association’s ability to fully function in natural and man-made disasters, and be a resource for the Ames Lake community. The building is located at 27905 on NE 33rd Street and is adjacent to the original Vista wells, which have served the Association since its inception.
Construction of the building started in October of 2017 and was completed in time for the Association’s September 17, 2018 Annual Meeting. To improve the resiliency of the water system, the office and operations building (built on property originally owned by the Association) is designed and built to higher earthquake standards and both the Vista wells and office/operations center are on automatic propane powered back-up generators. Also, as a historical note, the Board once again meets monthly on the same property where the original Board initially met over a folding card table in a cramped well house to plan a water utility.
In 2019, ALWA celebrated its 50th year. The annual meeting that year was held in the Association’s new office and operations building and was a community event with hamburgers, hot dogs and other refreshments served and tours given showing the new facilities, telemetry system and management capabilities of a highly efficient water utility. Fifty years of hard work by a lot of different people over that time were now really showing as a great community resource for the Association’s members.
Also in 2019, Jenny Disch was hired as the Office Manager. Jeremy Reier succeeded Bob Pancoast as Water System Manager in 2020 upon Bob’s retirement. The new building was named in honor of Bob in 2021. The Association completed another major project in 2022 – a new Tolt Booster Pump Station. This facility delivers a higher and more consistent water pressure for around 100 members and includes two fire flow pumps that improve the performance of fire hydrants in most of the service area. This was a great upgrade to the Association’s important fire water suppression capacity discussed above. Christine Lemons came on board as the Business Manager in 2023.
In 2024, the Association embarked on planning to replace water mains in and around the lake. As the Association’s water system ages past the 50-year mark for much of the original system, replacement and maintenance will be a common ongoing activity for ALWA staff. The system is nearing “build-out” with the majority of properties developed and the full core of the system fully in place. There are couple of future multi-home developments that might occur but for the most part, it is the single-family development of the few remaining lots in the Ames Lake/Tolt Hill area that has added to the membership of the Association in recent years.
Currently (2025), the Association has nearly 1,200 members, over 38 miles of water mains, six water production wells, pumping stations and slightly more than 1 million gallons of water storage in six concrete tanks. The system is classified as a Group A water system by the Washington Department of Health and has an approved service area covering about 10 square miles of the Tolt Hill and Ames Lake area. The wells, storage tanks and pump stations are all controlled by a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system that allows for remote monitoring and operation of the system. Improvements to the Association’s water system over the past multiple decades have resulted in a very efficient, highly monitored, reliable water system that provides high quality well water to its members in the Ames Lake/Tolt Hill Community.