BREMERTON — The boundary between the Bremerton Water Utility District and the Silverdale Water District has shifted a bit in the Barker Creek area following an agreement solidified at the May 2 Bremerton City Council meeting.

The parcels in that area, previously in the Bremerton jurisdiction, now are covered by Silverdale Water.

“We have a water main that was extended into the City of Bremerton’s service area,” said Skip Beahm, assistant general manager of Silverdale Water.

Beahm said at the time of expansion for SWD’s water main, there “was some work being done on Tracyton,” so the district had to “get past that work.”

“We ended up extending that water main into the Bremerton service area,” he said.

Beahm said the owner of a parcel of land in that specific area decided to develop on the previously empty lot and needs water service.

“The City of Bremerton does not have water mains in the area; they suggested to the property owner to contact Silverdale Water,” he said.

But in order to service that area, an official agreement needed to be made between SWD and the City of Bremerton to change the water district boundaries, in accordance with the Kitsap County Coordinated Water System Plan.

Kathleen Cahall of the city of Bremerton said the boundary agreement between Bremerton and Silverdale water districts dates back to 1982. This new agreement, she said, is simply an update.

“All water systems have agreements with the water systems they share boundaries with,” Cahall said. “It’s to outline where the service areas for each water system is … each water system has agreements, generally, with their adjacent water systems.”

She added that the water districts coordinate with each other to provide sufficient service to Kitsap residents.

Beahm said it’s rare “when utilities have overlapping, uncontested areas where two utilities can serve the same area, but if one happens to get there first [the second will cede the territory]. It doesn’t happen a lot.”

The reason why the boundary is being updated, however, is solely to better serve the landowners in the Barker Creek area.

“It’s not so much a benefit for either water facility, it’s a benefit for the resident,” Beahm said. “It’s a matter of two utilities trying to work together to help the citizens of Kitsap County.”

To learn more about the Kitsap County Coordinated Water System Plan, visit bit.ly/2FzbOlw.