Bellingham, WA

Adding to it's long list of accomplishments, and reasons why people keep moving to Bellingham, The City of Bellingham Department of Public Works has received a national award from The American Water Works Association (AWWA). The Partnership for Safe Water Directors Award - for ongoing commitment to providing residents and businesses in Bellingham and Whatcom County with excellent drinking water.

Bellingham's Whatcom Falls Water Treatment Plant has had the honor of receiving this award for ten years, an honor achieved by only sixteen water utilities across the country.

Bellingham is constantly working on improving the quality of it's drinking water.

"From things as minor as cleaning out the pipes that carry the backwash water to the wastewater treatment plant, to replacing the controllers that ensure the water flows more evenly through the filters.

More significant improvements include:

• A streaming current meter that measures the electrical charge in the water. This allows staff to fine-tune the chemical-feed system.
• Particle-count sensors that look at the size of the particles in the water that pose a potential risk to the public, then backwashing (cleaning) the filters based on particle counts.
• A flash mixer that does a better job of mixing the coagulant chemicals with the water. This improves filter efficiency, as well as saving money on the chemicals needed for the job.
• A new coagulant that improves the removal of organic material from the water. This helps reduce disinfection by-products in the distribution system.
• New baffles in the clearwell that improve how the chlorine mixes with the water, helping to keep the chlorine levels more consistent."

The City of Bellingham Department of Public Works received the Ten-Year Directors Award at the American Water Works Association's Annual Conference & Exposition in San Diego, California.

In northwest Washington we have many waterfront homes. Homes so situated include wonderful bay and lakeside lots. Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish come to mind. As one would expect, when water views are involved, the prices go up.

When a home is right on the water, a dock might be involved in the real estate sale. I was scheduled for a home inspection the other day, for a past client, and he asked me if I could also inspect the dock. Well, "no" on that one. Inspecting a dock is, shall we say, "way over my head." That is a specialty field.

In doing some research, I found a good resource for dock inspections in this region. Peter Zuanich is a lifetime Bellingham resident. Those of us, in Whatcom County, will recognize the name. His dad was a longtime Port Commissioner and Zuanich Point Park, is a premier outdoor recreational area in Bellingham. Pete and his family have spent a lifetime in the marine industry and with boats. Pete is the owner of Sound Marine Surveyors Inc. and he is a member of the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors. Zuanich is a top boat inspector in the northwest. Even though his primary services involve inspecting boats of all kinds, Pete will, as an adjunct part of his business, perform quality dock inspections as well. This is a much needed service in our maritime region. The photo below shows Pete Zuanich checking a dock at a luxury home on Lake Whatcom.

Pete Zuanich is a name to keep in mind, if you are a realtor, a loan officer or an inspector who might be asked to refer a competent party for a dock inspection. Sound Marine Surveyors, Inc. may be reached at 360-734-2807.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

Things are changing in the home inspection industry in Washington State. Come September 1 of this year, home inspectors will be state licensed. For a large percentage of home inspectors, who are presently working in the field, to qualify to sit for the test they must complete 120 hours of state approved education and 40 hours of field training. Without meeting those requirements, they cannot be licensed.

There are presently three education providers, and only three, approved by the state. Two of these are franchises, for in-house training, and the third is Bellingham Technical College.

The last Bellingham Technical College course that will be run prior to licensing taking effect begins on Monday, July 6. If students in that course complete all work promptly, they should be able to apply to the state, test and receive a license before the September 1 deadline. For some inspectors, who need the education and field training --or they will have an interruption in business or have to close their business on September 1 -- this is a last chance to register for state approved training. For further information, click on the link below:

Bellingham Technical College

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

I have noticed in the past that Active Rain members seem to have a strong interest in vermin -- more so rats than mice. Whenever I post any information about rats, it seems to get more clicks than my average blog post about less "sexy" topics. An example of that would be this post from earlier in the week.

I think that this phenomenon might be like watching horror movies and hearing about serial killers. The topics are fascinating but there is a creepiness factor too. The truth about rats, at least around here in Bellingham and Whatcom County, is that I see signs of them on AT LEAST 50% of the inspections that I perform. I often find them in expensive waterfront homes -- properties priced at over $1 million. Rats are equal opportunity rodents.

Some of the common places to find rat droppings would be in the crawl space, basements, under sinks or on top of the water heater. These are places people do not look, so the signs of rats are as likely to be missed in that $1 million dollar crawl space as in that low-end crawl space. Other than their droppings, rodents leave other signs -- seeds in the crawl space, torn insulation, insulation pulled down, plastic on flex heat ducts shredded. All those items are clues of rodent activity.

People ask if we inspectors are not afraid of the rats that are onsite. Even though I have heard mice in walls while I was working, I have yet to run into a live rat. When we find them, and it does happen, they usually look like this one.

So, the bottom line is this: It is not great to find rats onsite but rats are not usually intimidating in anyway....just gross. And, it is my suggestion that nobody, no matter where you live, should look down on another person if rats are found on his or her property. It is not necessarily a sign of low class to have rats, they might be lounging in your snazzy house too -- you just do not know about it YET! Obviously leaving food, garbage and bird seed laying around attracts them, but not everybody living with rats is a slob. Please remember that!

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections