Birch Bay rainfall reached record numbers for the month of November last year.
According to Birch Bay Water and Sewer District (BBWSD), which tracks precipitation at its office in Birch Bay on Point Whitehorn Road, rainfall in November 2021 totaled 15.14 inches versus 4.9 inches, the average rainfall in 2010-2020. In one 48-hour period, the region received 6 inches of rain – the district considers an inch of rain in 24 hours to be a significant event.
The rainfall last November was over three times the average rainfall in November from 2010 to 2020. November has averaged as the wettest month in Birch Bay for the past decade, with December closely behind, said BBWSD general manager Dan Eisses.
BBWSD received 4.7 million gallons of water into the sewer treatment facility November 15, nearly double the previous single-day record of 2.7 million gallons in 2010, according to the district. Eisses said the district needs to treat stormwater once it’s in the sewer system, which made the sewer facility reach the cusp of capacity in November.
“We’ve never seen that much rain and we’ve never seen that much flow at the plant,” Eisses said.
Birch Bay’s rainfall is in line with other record-breaking amounts recorded in neighboring cities of Seattle and Abbotsford. In Seattle, King 5 reported the city had the wettest fall on record, receiving 19 inches of rain from September to November. The 10 inches of rain recorded in November at the Sea-Tac Airport made it the fifth wettest November for Seattle.
Across the border, Abbotsford surpassed its 2006 record of 16 inches, with 21 inches last November, according to the Vancouver Sun. Last November’s rainfall was over double Abbotsford’s average November rainfall of 9 inches. The Vancouver Sun reported Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo had their three wettest November months on record.
Birch Bay’s previous record for wettest month was 9.2 inches of rain in January 2020, Eisses said.
“Climate projections are saying our area will receive higher rainfalls,” he said. “I don’t know if this will be the new normal or is higher than climate change projections. I’m looking at it as an indication right now.”
Pat Grubb contributed to the reporting of this article.
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