Glacier Springs Property Owners' Association

The community of Glacier Springs is nestled in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. Located approximately thirty miles east of Bellingham, Washington, we enjoy of the beauty of the surrounding mountains and nearby rivers and creeks. Glacier Springs Property Owners Association (GSPOA) is a non-profit homeowners association responsible for the administration of the community. This web site contains current information for the benefit of our membership and others interested in our community.

Water Update – Wednesday 4/5/2023

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Hi, everyone – a brief update (most will, I hope, be brief from here on out!). Per Health Department recommendations, we continue to test weekly at this time, and those results continue to come back clean. We hope to get the final mitigation work completed week after next. At that point, and again assuming we continue to have good test results, we’ll be able to lift the boil water guidance, and them move to monthly testing for the ensuing three months. We continue to appreciate your patience, and I’ll update again as soon as I have more information to share. In the meantime – and because it’s mostly a wait-and-see situation for now, please assume that “no news is good news.”

Water Update for Tuesday, March 21

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Hello, everyone – The cleaning and sanitization were completed this weekend. The system was flushed yesterday (thank you, Jim Klessig!), and investigative samples were taken in 8 locations around the system – 3 up at the tanks/spring, and 5 throughout the rest of the community. We will have the results of those tests back tomorrow (Wednesday). If all of those come back clean, we’ll submit additional samples (called “compliance” samples) tomorrow. These compliance sample results would be reported to the DOH (hence the name – they validate to the DOH that our system is in compliance).

Also, I know that a few folks have asked about sources of the contamination, as well as what is being done to ensure we don’t have the issue recur. I have not yet responded to those inquiries because 1) things have been relatively speculative as we’ve gone along, and I didn’t want to provide information/theories which might later be disproven, and 2) because it’s challenging to respond to each inquiry individually as well as try to keep the community informed. Rest assured that the board will provide a written summary of the timeline, steps taken to determine the source and remediate, as well as additional work which will be done to ensure the issue does not happen again.

I’ll update again tomorrow once we have the investigative sample results, and assuming things go to plan, again on Thursday after compliance test results come back as well.

Water Update – Saturday, March 18

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Hi, everyone – confirming that the tank cleaning was completed yesterday (Friday) and that the subsequent – and hopefully last – sanitization was applied today. You may notice a slight chlorine smell in water as you run it, but the levels are not harmful. That said, you may wish to run your water a bit if it’s at all bothersome. We’ll test again, and will let you all know the results as soon as we have them. Thank you!

Water System Update for Wed 3/15

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Hello again – apologies for the lack of an update – unfortunately it’s been wait-and-see with the weather. We’re finally confirmed for the tank cleaning on Friday. Once that’s complete, we’ll have (hopefully!) one more round of testing to ensure things are at long last clean once again.

 

Water System Update for Wednesday 3/8

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Hello, all – this will be a relatively short one – Unfortunately, the snow has not melted as quickly as we’d hoped so the tank cleaning has still not happened. Our next estimate is this Friday, or possibly as late as Monday, weather-dependent. Again, I want to assure everyone that our water team and contractors are working as quickly as they are able. I know it is frustrating to still be under the boil-water notice, but I am hopeful we are nearing its end. We continue to appreciate your patience.

Water Update 3/4/2023

Water

The update for today is that the contractor did come out to Glacier Springs on Wednesday afternoon as planned to scope the project. They will do the cleaning work on the tanks as soon as they are able. The current issue is the snow – they can’t get their equipment/work vehicle up the hill to the tanks at the moment. The weather/temperature looks to improve as we move through the weekend and into the first part of next week, so they’re thinking maybe Monday/Tuesday, again depending on Mother Nature. Both tanks will clean both inside and out, and then apply the (hopefully, final) system disinfection at that same time.

Water System Update – Tuesday, 2/28

Water

Hello, everyone –

The good news is that the second round of test results have been received, and again, we are negative for E Coli. The slightly less good news is that we still have trace amounts of coliform in one of the two storage tanks. This means that we are unable to safely lift the boil water notice at this time. The next – and hopefully final – steps are to have the tanks themselves cleaned inside and out, followed by one final round of system disinfection. We contacted a contractor today to get the tank cleanup work completed; they will be out tomorrow to scope the work and provide a timeline for its completion. We will of course continue to keep you all informed as these final remediation steps are completed.

Glacier Springs Water Update – Thurs 2/23/2023

Water

As most owners know, we have been under a boil-water order since last Friday, February 16, due to a positive test result for E Coli and cloriform in the system. In addition to email and our Facebook group, we are also providing updates here on our public website page. We have made every effort possible to reach all owners and users of GS water via online updates, email, and door-hanger notices at homes in the community. If you have still been missed, we encourage you to provide your email address, along with your name and Glacier Springs street address (for verification purposes) to info@glaciersprings.org to ensure you are included on future emergency communications. 

Water System Update:

I just spoke with our water operator about some test results we just received. Tests were taken in 5 locations around the system after the cleaning work done on Monday. All were negative for E Coli, and only one location was positive for coliform. While this is a big improvement, we continue to work on maintenance and cleaning of the system to remediate that positive coliform result. Per DOH guidelines we need two consecutive negative (clean) test results to remove the boil-water order. To that end:

  • One more sample was submitted today to the lab/DOH for verification we are clean of E Coli.
  • Additional tests will be taken tomorrow (Friday) in 8 testing locations; we would expect to have those results back on Monday from the lab.
  • If those tests all come back negative, that would be our second all clear; so, we would be able to lift the boil order early next week.

Again, thanks for your patience – this has been trying for all of us. On behalf of the board, I’d like to express my appreciation to those who have been working on the issue since last week, and to those community members who volunteered so quickly to distribute door hangers on Monday, as well as those who have shared information with others by word of mouth. Every little bit helps!

Jeff Sabado
President, Glacier Springs Property Owners’ Association

2022 Annual General Meeting

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The 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) is set for an in-person meeting at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center on Saturday, October 22nd, 2022 at 10:00 AM PDT.

AGM information and proxy forms, which have been mailed to members, must be returned by post or email by October 21, 2021. Failure to secure a minimum of 50 proxies or in-person member attendees will cost the Association considerable expense to hold a second meeting, so please return your proxy or plan to attend on October 22nd.

The following items of business are presented:

  1. Ratification of the 2022-2023 Budget

Meeting materials:

AGM Documents, including Annual Report, Financial Statements, and the 2022-2023 Budget are password protected. The password is listed on the paper copy of the meeting notice mailed to each member. If you have misplaced your notice, please email info@glaciersprings.org with your name and Glacier Springs address, and we will re-send you the password.