Oak Harbor is in talks with Anacortes to install “wet fiber” in water lines near Deception Pass and Pass Lake.

The fiber optic cables would allow the city to monitor the water lines and detect leaks.

“We’re looking at it from a water benefit point of view,” City Administrator Blaine Oborn said, adding that the city is also considering incorporating broadband internet access into the fiber optic cables.

According to Oborn, it is cheaper to install the cables in the water line than having to dig places for new lines. The cost of the project has yet to be determined.

Oborn said he expects the first stage of the project to be completed within a year after being approved. Cables will be installed from Pass Lake to just south of Deception Pass.

For the second phase of the project, the city will install cables from Pass Lake to Sharpe’s Corner, Oborn said.

For the third phase of the project, the city will look to connect fiber to the Ault Field reservoir.

Oborn said city officials will consider both Anacortes’ model and the Port of Coupeville fiber optic feasibility study to determine how it will implement broadband access.

The port’s study is looking at the possibility of an open access broadband network, which would allow internet service providers to bring their service to the island and compete with one another.

Anacortes has started to offer its own internet services to residents and will expand areas this year.