Effective October 1, 2026, the South Whatcom Fire Authority has removed the burn ban that was in place for Whatcom County.
Now that the burn bad has been removed, SVCA’s Rules & Regulations allow recreational fires of less than three (3) feet in diameter and less than two (2) feet in height. Residents may NOT burn leaves, clippings, and other yard and gardening refuse on their property.
Please call Administration at 360-734-6430 if you have any questions.
Workers from Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District (LWWSD) are on site working on Marigold Drive between Lake Whatcom Blvd and the Clubhouse. They are diagnosing a problem that is causing water to bubble up through a manhole cover and travel across the road. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic around the closure. LWWSD estimates that the repair will take about three hours to complete.
LWWSD sent SVCA the following report at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, September 30:
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 1:50pm, the District administration office received a phone call from a customer that sewer was spilling out from a manhole on Marigold Dr inside Gate 2 in Sudden Valley. District staff investigated and determined that the manhole housed an air release valve associated with the force main from nearby Ranch House sewer lift station.
Pumps at the Ranch House sewer lift station were turned off at 2:14pm to stop any further release of sewage. District staff then determined that the air release valve had failed to seal the flow of sewage through the 3/8” exhaust port. Using flow data from the lift station during the estimated time of failure, it was determined that approx 700 gallons of raw sewage was released onto Marigold Dr approximately 200 ft in each direction of the manhole.
Wastewater did NOT reach Lake Whatcom or Lake Louise. The sewage that was released soaked into the ground on the southside of Marigold Dr. Media will not be notified via press release unless wastewater is believed to have reached a surface water body. The Washington State Department of Ecology ERTS tracking system was notified.
District staff washed the residual sewage off the road surface using a highly concentrated chlorine solution to disinfect the area. The air release valve was repaired and placed back into service.
Members who attempted to vote online this morning experienced an issue with their electronic ballot. The issue has now been corrected. A link to a Revised Ballot will be sent to everyone who signed up for online voting.
The link to the revised ballot will be sent today, September 30th, in the afternoon. Please be sure to vote the REVISED BALLOT when voting online. If you click on the link that was sent earlier today, you will see a message saying that “voting was closed on September 30, 2026.”
We apologize for this inconvenience. If you have any questions, please call Administration at 360-734-6430.
Rebecca Sutter has withdrawn her candidacy for the Board of Directors. The revised list of candidates running for positions on the Board of Directors and Committees is shown below. We thank each of these individuals for their interest in serving the Sudden Valley community.
Candidates for the Board of Directors:
Candidates for the Architectural Control Committee:
Candidate for the Nominations & Elections Committee:
We encourage all Association members to learn about each candidate and vote in the upcoming election.
We are excited to announce the candidates running for positions on the Board of Directors and Committees. Each of these individuals is dedicated to serving our community and contributing their time, energy, and expertise to strengthen Sudden Valley.
Candidates for the Board of Directors
Candidates for the Architectural Control Committee
Candidate for the Nominations & Elections Committee
Your participation ensures a strong, representative, and effective HOA. Please take time to learn about each candidate and cast your vote to help shape the future of our community.
Aquatechnex will be on site on Thursday, August 27th, to spray approved aquatic herbicide on invasive waterlilies in Lake Louise. Because of the size of the lake, they plan to be on site for the entire day. The herbicide being used is Imazamox. WA State Department of Ecology states that, “Imazamox is only toxic to plants and is considered practically non-toxic to animals, fish, invertebrates, and other non-plant aquatic species.” There are no recommended water-use restrictions following the application of Imazamox.
The Long-Range Planning Committee presented the results of the 2026 Community Survey on Thursday night, July 30th. To view the slides used in the presentation, click HERE.
Additional information and materials will be added to the website next week.
WA State law affecting Home Owner Associations (HOAs) has changed significantly this year, and additional changes will take effect in 2028. These changes are the result of WA State enacting the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, also known as WUCIOA, in 2018, and the passage of Senate Bill 5129 in 2025.
Many of the provisions in our current Bylaws must be updated to reflect the changes in the law. Sudden Valley’s Document Review Committee (DRC) has worked closely with CSD Law, the Association’s legal counsel, to prepare a revised version of the Bylaws. The Bylaws have been updated to align with all of the provisions of WUCIOA, so that further revisions will not be needed in 2028. The proposed revisions have been posted on the Association’s website, where members can also submit comments. To find the revisions, click HERE
SVCA’s Bylaws can only be revised through a vote of the community. The proposed revisions will be presented on the ballot for the 2026 AGM.
UPDATE: Comments closed Friday, August 21, 2026.
The board meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 9th, 2026, has been canceled. The next meeting of the board will take place on Thursday, July 23rd, 2026.
The full schedule of board meetings can be found HERE.
