History

An original water system known as Lake Mayfield Water Supply System and was owned and operated by Cheri and Roxy White. Facing growth and system upgrade difficulties a purchaser for the water system was sought. Several residents formed Lewis County Water Sewer District #6 and also created a Local Improvement District to raise capital to fund the purchase, improvement and operation of the water and sewer system. 

Before the District assumed operation of the Lake Mayfield Water Supply System, there were many problems. The System was constructed in the 1970s. Department of Health records document a history of complaints and noncompliance dating back to 1977. A moratorium on further connections to the Village Water System began in 1977 along with the prohibition of new septic system installations. This building moratorium was the result of inadequate water and sewer capabilities. The sale of the water system occurred in November 1998.

The Village Community requested the assistance of Lewis County to find a solution to the moratorium, including water system and wastewater deficiencies. The Lewis County Board of Commissioners committed their support in working with the Lake Mayfield Village Community to resolve the water problems and financed the initial work performed on the water and sewer system planning. 

To that end, in 1999, the LCWSD#6 developed a comprehensive water system management plan and began seeking funds for the development of a new water and sewer system. Construction of the new water and sewer system began in early 2001. Total cost of the new water and sewer system was $5,577,843. USDA Rural Development provided funding for the project in the way of loans totaling $1,581,450 and grants in the amount of $1,781,500. Those funds were leveraged with resources from the Washington State Public Works Utilities Program Fund, Department of Ecology SRF, Department of Health Drinking Water SRF and local contributions from the Lewis County PUD #1 and TDS Telecom. The new infrastructure for water and sewer included a new well site filter building, a Waste Water Treatment Plant, 133,000 concrete reservoir and all new pipes throughout the area served. The PUD and TDS also provided all new underground cables to serve the neighborhood while the trenches were open. Construction of the new water system was completed in May of 2002.

To finance the construction of the water and sewer system, each property owner was given the opportunity to request as many connections to the system as they desired. Each connection would cost the property owner $13,805 as an assessment against the parcel. A total of 270 connections were requested by residents of the community and the District was formed based on that number of connections. Lewis County offered each owner of a connection a plan to pay for the connection over a period of 20 years at an interest rate of 4.5%.

In 2004, the District needed to find an office for its administrative operations. It was decided to build a District office on land leased from Lake Mayfield Resort and Marina. Cost to the District would be offset by the District providing the basement of the office building to the Marina for storage. The cost of the property to the District is 0. Through prudent financial management, the District was able to pay off the District Office mortgage in January of 2010, saving the rate payers approximately $78,000.