Boil water advisory set for some West Sequim Bay Road residents

Published 6:30 pm Monday, July 27, 2026

Residents and businesses by John Wayne Marina await approval from state health officials to use potable water after a two-week boil advisory.

Dan Butler, a Sequim city councilor and impacted resident, said in an interview that about 30 residences, the marina and John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort lost water pressure on July 9 because the area’s reservoir, owned and operated by John Wayne Enterprises, became nearly depleted due to multiple suspected issues, including a residential leak.

Clallam PUD first provided a water tanker truck to refill the reservoir, Butler said, and then the City of Sequim borrowed hoses from Clallam County Fire District 3 to run water from a hydrant to help replenish the supply.

Neighbors report that water was restored on the night of July 11, but they remain under a boil water advisory and continue to be asked to conserve water as of July 27.

No timeline has been given for the all-clear to use the potable water, residents report.

Sequim Public Works Director Chris Goins said on July 13 that city staff stepped in to supply water ahead of a formal request from the Department of Health. The move helped maintain reservoir levels, ensuring uninterrupted water service and fire suppression while John Wayne Enterprises investigates the matter.

Tracy Swanson with John Wayne Enterprises has emailed residents status updates about the reservoir, which is called West Bay Water Supply.

On July 15, she said water levels were recovering, the city had removed its temporary water line, the well pump and related equipment were operating properly, and they were continuing to evaluate water lines and meters to rule out a leak.

“Current drought conditions and below-average snowpack may be affecting groundwater availability, and we will continue gathering additional information,” she wrote. “Until the City of Sequim completes the water extension to your neighborhood, we are going to need to continue to conserve water.”

She asked homeowners to limit water use to essential needs and discontinue non-essential outdoor water use.

The resort, owned by John Wayne Enterprises, suspended non-essential water use and closed lawn sprinklers, Swanson wrote. She stated that the marina had also agreed to close its lawn sprinklers, as well as its boat washing station.

Scott Hough, senior operations manager with the Port of Port Angeles, confirmed on July 24 that they have stopped irrigating green spaces, and shut off boat washing.

Hough said there are no issues with having enough groundwater for eight months of the year.

“It’s a concern,” he said. “All that landscaping at (the marina) will die.”

He said they’ve experienced issues like this before, and he feels it will continue until the city extends and offers its water services to the area.

Butler said July 24 that the system is holding water again, and officials are awaiting test results from the state Department of Health before lifting the boil water advisory.

Many nearby residents connect to John Wayne Enterprises’ well for potable water while some older homes have existing wells, and many use irrigation water from Highland Irrigation, he said.

Butler said a few factors may have led to the well’s depletion, including a resident along West Sequim Bay Road unknowingly having a significant leak and not realizing it until they saw their water bill.

He said city staff have looked to extend water to the region for 30 years.

As reported in May, a lift station at Forrest Road along West Sequim Bay Road that would offer potable water to the region remains on hold.

Former Public Works Director Paul Bucich said the lift station would serve about 610 acres of land but “a major contributor to the station will be any development that occurs down by the John Wayne Marina, e.g. Westbay.”

Seabrook Holding Company’s Westbay is a proposed 600-lot application along West Sequim Bay Road that is also on hold as city staff deemed it “technically incomplete” on July 21, 2025.

A moratorium is also in place for master-planned overlays until the city council approves an updated Comprehensive Plan, according to city staff. Westbay falls under that category.

Seabrook cannot resubmit the application until the moratorium is lifted.

Public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan are slated with the Sequim Planning Commission on Sept. 1 and Sequim City Council on Sept. 28.

Sequim received a $14.7 million Department of Ecology loan to build the lift station, featuring a 1.6% interest rate that begins a year after construction is complete.

In May, Bucich said he wouldn’t want to begin construction without a clear financial agreement covering connection timelines and developer contributions for the lift station’s design and construction.