Whatcom Health Department Landfill Mapping

The Whatcom County Health Department is mandated to protect public health and the environment by ensuring that any well, including drinking water wells, is not constructed within a 1,000-foot buffer of any active, inactive, closed, or illegal solid waste landfills. Drilling wells within 1,000 feet of any type of landfill may cause a public health risk, potentially degrade the environment, and/or contaminate the aquifer. In addition to the department, Whatcom County Planning and Development Services, Public Works, property owners, realtors, well drillers, land developers, and the Department of Ecology require this data to inform decisions related to permitted well drilling. As a result, accurate mapping of landfills, including old and unpermitted ones, is of critical importance to the health of the community.

To achieve this, the County required an accurate GIS dataset of the landfills and the buffer zone. The existing GIS data set was of uncertain provenance, contained duplicate geometries, and was not well attributed for decision-making. In addition, the County had modernized its parcel and mapping data, and the old data was no longer aligned with the parcel boundaries, presenting a point of confusion for users. 

To address these data point anomalies, FLO used historical documentation and other data to identify and update the geometry and attributes for each landfill into a new dataset. This dataset was then well described with metadata detailing the dataset and sources in detail. To assist in the quick identification of impacted areas, FLO generated a new 1,000-foot well exclusion buffer dataset with appropriate metadata. The new data provides increased confidence in landfill locations and can be shared with external parties as an authoritative dataset. Additionally, the update made the dataset easier to maintain going forward and helped the health department meet its mandate.