WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Public Utility District No. 1 of Whatcom County (PUD) and Whatcom County have declared an emergency to replace a deteriorated industrial water transmission line along Douglas Road within 70 to 90 days, according to PUD records and county executive proclamations.
According to an incident report from the PUD, staff responded to an active leak at a shutoff valve and a abandoned 4-inch blowoff hydrant connection on the Douglas Road line. The line is a 24-inch reinforced concrete cylinder pipeline installed in the mid-1960s that operates at approximately 250 pounds per square inch, supplying industries, Grandview Industrial Park fire-flow systems, other fire systems and irrigation customers in western Whatcom County.
Excavation along the pipeline uncovered widespread deterioration. According to PUD briefing materials, 12 of 13 exposed locations exhibited failing or deteriorated joint conditions, including joint banding cracking, delamination, rust staining and active water seepage. District engineers determined the pipeline cannot be repaired, tapped or isolated with a line stop without a risk of uncontrolled rupture.
According to the emergency proclamation issued by Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu on August 15, 2026, an uncontrolled rupture or failure of the pressurized line would cause flooding, washout damage to county roads and nearby properties, and an immediate loss of water and fire-suppression service to western Whatcom County.
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The PUD Commission approved Resolution No. 904 on August 25, 2026, confirming the emergency declaration and waiving competitive bidding requirements to construct a replacement line called the Emergency Unick Line Rebuild.
According to project documents, the rebuild involves:
- constructing approximately 5.6 miles of 30-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline primarily along the Unick Road corridor, public rights-of-way, and PUD easements
- keeping the existing 24-inch pipeline in service under temporary stabilization measures while the new line is installed
- targeting project completion within a 70 to 90-day window
- funding an estimated project cost between $41 million and $60 million through bond issuance
County departments were directed under the executive proclamation to expedite required environmental, floodplain, and shoreline permits.
WHEREAS, Public Utility District No. 1 of Whatcom County (the District) owns and operates the Douglas Road water transmission main, a 24-inch reinforced concrete cylinder pipeline constructed in the mid-1960s that operates at approximately 250 pounds per square inch and supplies process water and fire-suppression water to the heavy industrial area of western Whatcom County; and
WHEREAS, a field investigation undertaken by the District to isolate and repair a leaking hydrant connection on the pipeline revealed widespread and advanced deterioration of the pipeline, with at least 10 of 13 exposed pipe joints exhibiting obvious deterioration and one joint actively leaking, and the District and its engineers have determined that the pipeline cannot be repaired, isolated, or tapped without an unacceptable risk of uncontrolled rupture of the pressurized main; and
WHEREAS, an uncontrolled failure of the pipeline would cause flooding and washout damage to nearby properties and County road infrastructure and the immediate and unrecoverable loss of essential water service and fire-suppression supply to the western Whatcom County industrial area, presenting an imminent threat to the health, welfare, and safety of persons, property, and the environment, and an immediate risk of a public calamity within the meaning of Chapter 2.40 of the Whatcom County Code …Whatcom County Proclamation of Emergency (August 15, 2026)
Whatcom PUD #1 did not immediately respond to Whatcom News’s request for more details.
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