KINGSTON — After 16 years, the Suquamish Tribe’s work with the Kitsap Public Utility District and the Washington State Department of Ecology is paying off.

The three have put their heads together during that period in an effort to ensure the KPUD’s No. 7 well, located in North Kingston, will not adversely effect Carpenter Creek.

KPUD assistant manager Bob Hunter said DOE’s stepping outside the box made all the difference in the process, and a solution was announced Dec. 18 that satisfies most everyone involved.

“There’s no written agreement, except for the letters the tribe has sent us,” he said. “At this point, the tribe has given its word that it won’t appeal the decision. We are all pretty happy with the outcome.”

Concerns were raised by the tribe when KPUD first looked into using well No. 7 in the early 1990s. Of notable concern were the potential consequences of pumping water from Carpenter Creek, said Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman. If too much water is removed from the salmon-bearing waterway, those indigenous fish could be put in harm’s way, he said.

“DOE said they found Carpenter Creek could be stable if we returned as much as five gallons per minute to the creek,” Hunter said. “The (tribe’s scientists) didn’t agree, they said it should be much higher. Rather than have DOE and the tribe fight it out in court, we sat down and worked out what will satisfy everyone.”

The three agreed KPUD could solve the problem by replenishing 25 gallons of water per minute to the creek, though the agreement is phased, he said. The tribe and KPUD will monitor Carpenter Creek for one year. Data collected will be analyzed by the newly formed North Kingston Technical Advisory Committee, which will help determine whether the creek is holding its own, Hunter said. If it is, the project will proceed to Phase 2.

If not, Suquamish, KPUD and DOE officials will go back to the drawing board.

“I’m very happy they came to an agreement,” said Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen. “I think that’s fantastic news.”

Another group pleased with the outcome is the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, which didn’t play a direct role in the decision making, but did echo the Suquamish Tribe’s concerns.

“There are different areas that the two tribes pay attention to,” said Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal water resource program manager and hydrogeologist Dave Fuller. “Suquamish watches Kingston, and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe usually doesn’t go in there. But we had the same concerns as Suquamish, and we have a long-standing cooperative relationship with Suquamish, so we backed them during the process.”

A 30-day appeal period began Dec. 13, allowing others to dispute the decision, Hunter said. The three groups are holding their collective breath until Jan. 13 before launching to the project. Forsman said he didn’t envision anyone who would appeal the project during that window.