08/23/2026
Not a drop of Skagit water should be sold off to outside interests. Full stop.
FOX 13 just ran a story on this exact issue, and it's worth everyone's attention. Mount Vernon farmer Darrin Morrison, whose family has worked the same land for a century, put it plainly: a few years ago, "data centers" wasn't even a word his family thought about. Now it's a real threat to the water and land his crops depend on. He's spent 40 years growing vegetable seed here, and he's watching a new competitor show up for the resources he needs just to keep farming.
He's not wrong to be worried. Water in this valley is already spoken for — irrigation, hydropower, tribal fishing rights, and the summer flood and water-limitation challenges we deal with every year. Layering industrial-scale water demand on top of that, just because a data center operator can outbid everyone else, is not a trade worth making.
A few weeks ago I wrote about Skagit County's moratorium on new data centers, and this new reporting only confirms why that pause matters. Our farmers need this water more than ever, and we can't afford to sell it to the highest bidder.
As a third-generation Skagitonian, I grew up here. My grandparents came to this valley as Dutch immigrants and built a life around the land and water that make Skagit County what it is. We don't get to take that for granted, and we shouldn't hand it over to industrial-scale data centers.
I'm running for PUD Commissioner because I believe in rate transparency, responsible stewardship of our public resources, and thoughtful planning that puts current and future Skagit County residents — and the farmers who depend on this water — first.
There's only one Skagit Valley. Not a drop of it should go to the highest bidder.
Read the FOX 13 story: https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/data-centers-skagit-valley-wa-farmers Read my earlier post on the moratorium: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14mnfWzEp4p/
