Angie Homola’s Swan Lake Preservation Group wants use Island County’s Shoreline “Restoration” plan to turn Boss/Swan Lake into a body of salt water, thus moving Puget Sound inland and seriously risking salt water intrusion into the freshwater wells of residents living in the vicinity of West Beach, including the area just south of where the Navy has just started drawing freshwater from wells to water the Navy golf course.

On  one  hand, Commissioners Homola, Helen Price Johnson and the Whidbey Environmental Action Network have vociferously fought Urban Growth Area expansion westward from Oak Harbor on the premise that the area around Boss / Swan Lake is environmentally sensitive. Contrarily, this same trio has now apparently taken the stance that, while additional storm water running into Boss/Swan Lake would be problematic, flooding that area with twice-daily tidal salt water at taxpayer expense would be peachy keen.

Never mind that doing so would create a potentially serious risk of salt water intrusion into surrounding well water. That would simply mean that members of the newly formed Whidbey West Water Association would either have to purchase reverse-osmosis systems to desalinate sea water or spend about $1 million to connect themselves to the new Navy piping recently installed along Golf Course Road.

Even the Whidbey West Water Association President, Jerry Pitsch, is on record at public forums espousing the “importance” of Boss / Swan Lake for salmon “restoration,” I am hoping some real change comes this November election season.

Bill Burnett

Oak Harbor