North Bend has upped the ante in the water war playing out along its eastern city limit, making an offer last week to purchase Sallal Water Association.

Surprising Sallal board members, North Bend Mayor Rob McFarland announced the offer during the public comment portion of an emergency Sallal board meeting on Aug. 16. The meeting was intended to discuss a recent Sallal moratorium on new water connections.

The potential purchase could have huge implications, with North Bend city officials saying it would put an end to over a decade of water challenges facing the city and allow Sallal to exit its moratorium. A city spokesperson said a purchase and subsequent merger would allow the city to provide enough water and subsequent mitigation water to serve the city at full buildout under current zoning laws.

“This is a big step, absolutely, but I believe it’s ultimately the correct answer,” McFarland said in an interview this week, noting both parties have an obligation to serve their residents.

“This is something that’s been contemplated off and on, that’s been mentioned in conversations with Sallal in the past,” he said, “but never had a formal offer from me or my administration.”

According to previous Valley Record reporting, multiple documents show that the city and King County intended, as far back as 2006, for North Bend to eventually service water to the entirety of its city limits and future growth boundary.

However, it appears that the offer is, at this point, unlikely to spell the end to either side’s water woes, with Sallal members unlikely to support the sale.

Sallal, a private, board-run utility group, provides water to customers in and around eastern North Bend city limits. Besides the city’s own water district, Sallal is the only water provider operating inside city boundaries.

While the two were originally separate entities, the North Bend city limits has progressively expanded into Sallal’s service area as the city has grown. At full buildout, set by the state Growth Management Act, the city is expected to expand into a majority of Sallal’s territory.

More than one-third of Sallal’s water district is encompassed in North Bend’s urban growth area (UGA). UGAs are districts in unincorporated King County that are likely to be annexed by cities as part of the 1994 Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). It’s a lot of acronyms to describe a set of policies meant to limit urban sprawl by concentrating dense development within cities.

Sallal is obligated to provide water to customers in its service area, including those within the UGA and city limits.

However, development in Sallal’s service area — including both current and future portions of North Bend — was halted in June when Sallal entered a moratorium on new water connections.

McFarland’s offer comes just weeks after the North Bend City Council unanimously approved a resolution announcing the city’s intent to serve water to properties in Sallal’s service, that are in city limits, should they be turned down by Sallal.

Sallal’s board members said they made the hard decision to enter the moratorium to prevent overcommitting its water supply, as its water usage exceeds 90% of the amount allocated to them under their water right. Sallal noted the moratorium drew the overwhelming support of its members.

In a statement released by Sallal on Aug. 18, board members accused the mayor of making false claims about Sallal’s willingness to negotiate and the quality of its water system. They accused the mayor of derailing their meeting and called his action “an act of political theater,” that was “clearly calculated” to “sow discord in Sallal’s membership.”

“The City of North Bend has taken the announcement of this interim moratorium as an opportunity to make baseless accusations against Sallal’s system and management,” the statement reads. “It is extremely disappointing to see the City of North Bend choose to take this approach.”

A city spokesperson said the Mayor and city stand by claims made both at the meeting and on its website and remain open to negotiations.

Daylin Baker, vice president of the Sallal Board, said they are also still willing to negotiate a potential contract with the city.

Baker said they are hoping to host a meeting in October to discuss a potential sale of Sallal, but noted a sale would require a vote of Sallal members, who at this point, she said, are unified against the sale.

McFarland said in an interview that his immediate concern is to have a third-party appraisal of Sallal, which would require access granted by its membership. Baker said for the time being that won’t be allowed until the Sallal’s membership provides “clear direction” on what to do.

To exit its moratorium, Sallal will need additional water rights, but it’s unclear exactly where that water will come from.

At the meeting this week, Sallal listed three potential options for additional water, with the most rapid solution being a contract with the city. The only other short term solution would be a contract through Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), Baker said, but even that could take years.

“The only other hope we have for access to additional water besides a city contract is if SPU would be willing to wholesale water to us,” she wrote in an email. “They have indicated that would be complex and take at least a few years to assess.”

While Sallal needs additional water to serve its customers, the city needs additional mitigation water that can be used to protect water levels in the Snoqualmie River at full build-out. A deal between the two sides would be the easiest solution for both parties, although is not the only solution.

Around 2009, North Bend received its Centennial Well Water right. That well pulled the city out of a decade-long development moratorium and gave the city ample water, but came with its own set of complications.

Since that well is closely tied to water levels in the Snoqualmie River, the city is required to have a back-up mitigation source that can replenish flows when the river reaches low points during periods of drought or when the mountain has a low snowpack. The water right also requires a secondary mitigation source to act as a fail safe.

North Bend contracted with Seattle Public Utilities for access to Hobo Springs to act as its primary mitigation water source, but have been unable to secure a back-up source through Sallal or another source.

Around 2007, the city originally planned to sign a contract with Sallal to act as its fail-safe source. Under that plan, the city would receive mitigation water from Sallal, who in return would purchase additional wholesale water from the city, seemingly meeting the needs for both water districts.

Those negotiations collapsed, however, which Sallal attributed to the rates provided by the city for its water being unaffordable and concerns that payments would begin immediately, despite Sallal not needing water for several years.

Similar negotiations have happened sporadically over the last 15 years — including this summer — with the two sides unable to reach an agreement.

Some of the disagreement, Sallal officials said, includes whether Sallal should have to “guarantee” mitigation water to the city each year as part of the contract. Baker said they have concerns that a guarantee of mitigation water would eventually force its customers to curtail water use if the city is unable to provide needed potable water.

In an Aug. 15 letter to Sallal, McFarland rejected concerns made by Sallal, noting that there was “no downside” under a potential agreement. Separately, the city said they have continued to revise a potential agreement, but that each revision is met with new objections.

Correction: A previous version of this story said a third-party appraisal would not be permitted by Sallal until the city provided clear direction. That was corrected to say until Sallal’s membership provides clear direction. Also a reference to mitigation water in the penultimate paragraph was corretect to potable water. We regret the errors.