Farmers Forum — Whidbey Island Grown Cooperative Join us for the second annual Whidbey Farmer’s Forum, hosted and sponsored by Organic Farm School and Whidbey Island Grown. The forum will include class session, with multiple class options per time slot, … Continue reading When it comes to irrigating veg fields on Whidbey, should we be worried?
Water for Agriculture — South Whidbey Tilth John Lovie presented information and considerations about water for agriculture on Whidbey Island at the South Whidbey Tilth Annual Meeting on January 21, 2024. You can see a video recording of his presentation here, and get a PDF of the accompanying slides, here. John Lovie is a leader in the world of water quality and marine resource conservation. He has been an avid volunteer, dedicating countless hours as part of community science organizations and community-driven boards to improve the water quality, coastal resources and health of Island County. In 2023 he was awarded … Continue reading Water for Agriculture
Experts worry that one day Central and South Whidbey will not have enough quality drinking water. Water quality and supply a concern on Whidbey Island | South Whidbey Record By KATE POSS Special to the News-Times Even though the region … Continue reading Water quality and supply a concern on Whidbey Island
‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water found at Whidbey ‘slice of heaven’ | South Whidbey Record For as long as she can remember, Tamara Ross’ family hasn’t liked the taste of drinking water at Harrington Lagoon. So they’ve always brought bottled water to their vacation homes in the idyllic community east of Coupeville on Whidbey Island. The family has owned property there since 1955. They now have three homes right next to each other. “I love it,” said Ross, who goes there about once a month. “It’s our slice of heaven.” Continue reading ‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water found at Whidbey ‘slice of heaven’ | South Whidbey Record
An avid volunteer involved in countless projects around Puget Sound recently claimed the 2023 Jan Holmes award.
South Whidbey resident John Lovie is this year’s recipient of the annual award, which is named in memory of Jan Holmes, a marine scientist, educator and champion for stewardship of the marine environment who passed away in 2011.
The Island County Marine Resources Committee, Sound Water Stewards and Washington State University Extension presented Lovie with the award a few days ahead of Sound Waters University, which is when the winner of the award is usually announced Continue reading Whidbey ‘serial volunteer’ wins stewardship award | South Whidbey Record
A new study published this week was showed that toilet paper is a major contributor to PFAS in wastewater.
Rural Washington State relies heavily on septic systems for sewage treatment and on ground water wells for drinking water. In voluntary testing of public water systems in Washington State, PFAS compounds have been detected in about 10% of them. Could PFAS from our toilet paper be showing up in our drinking water? Continue reading About that Toilet Paper
I’m reluctant to post things about myself, particularly when it’s good news, but as about half the readership of this blog had something to do with this award coming my way, I’m going post this as a big thank you! This is as much about the relationships I’ve built along the way as it is about the work. The truth is that one could not have happened without the other. Thank you, all of you, for reading this and for caring about the issues I write about. Continue reading John Lovie Receives Coastal Volunteer of the Year Award
In part one of An Imperfect Storm we looked at how the recent flooding in Puget Sound validated predictive models of the vulnerability of shoreline parcels to flooding and sea level rise. In part two we look at how the use of these models in sea level rise and storm adaptation and recovery may be exacerbating gentrification and inequality. Continue reading An Imperfect Storm Part Two
The morning of December 27, 2022 brought a king tide to Washington State’s Puget Sound. A storm surge caused by a deep low-pressure system raised the water level by a further two feet. The resulting tidal anomaly caused significant coastal flooding, including around Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, where many homes have been built on beaches and sand spits. Many of these low-lying communities were impacted, some residents had to be evacuated, and homes and businesses suffered water damage. Roads were closed in places. Fortunately, there were no reports of loss of life. Continue reading An Imperfect Storm
“For members of the general public who are attuned to drinking water contaminants, the EPA announcement is raising concerns, according to John Lovie, president of the Whidbey Island Water Systems Association. Located in Washington state, the association counts about 100 water systems as members, which range in size from several thousand customers to just three or four. “ Continue reading EPA Warns of Health Problems When PFAS Levels in Drinking Water Are Inconceivably Tiny
