[Vision2020] aquifer protection update
bill london
london@moscow.com
Thu, 11 Dec 2003 09:32:24 -0800
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Update on Current Water Conservation Efforts
For more information, contact:
Dianne French, dfrench@moscow.com
Kelley Racicot, kelley@moscow.com
Jeanne Clothiaux, jeanne@turbonet.com
Moscow's Grande Ronde aquifer is dropping between 1.5 and 2 feet per
year. Discussion of our dropping groundwater supply became part of
formal discussions in 1967 (see PBAC history, below). The Moscow Civic
Association Board of Directors is working to insure residents have a
plentiful supply of water for future generations and for future
sustainable development. For this reason, we have signed a petition
asking the Idaho Department of Water Resources to declare our Grand
Ronde aquifer a Critical Ground Water Area and our Wanapum Aquifer a
Ground Water Management Area. We have put together this report to
inform you as to why we believe this to be right and necessary action.
Idaho Codes 42-233A, 42-233B, and 42-237A, grant authority to the
Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) to step in
and help local communities manage their water resource in cases where
they have not shown proper local management, i.e., "groundwater mining"
is occurring.
42-233a. "CRITICAL GROUND WATER AREA" DEFINED --
"Critical ground water area" is defined as any ground water basin, or
designated part thereof, not having sufficient ground water to provide a
reasonably safe supply for irrigation of cultivated lands, or other uses in
the basin at the then current rates of withdrawal, or rates of withdrawal
projected by consideration of valid and outstanding applications and
permits,
as may be determined and designated, from time to time, by the director
of the
department of water resources.
[requires a public hearing]
42-233b. GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT AREA. "Ground water management
area" is
defined as any ground water basin or designated part thereof which the
director of the department of water resources has determined may be
approaching the conditions of a critical ground water area.
[does not require a public hearing]
On Friday, November 21st, The Moscow Civic Association joined the
following groups in the signing of a petition asking IDWR to declare our
Grande Ronde aquifer a Critical Groundwater Area (CGA) and our Wanapum
aquifer a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA):
Palouse Water Conservation Network
Friends of the Clearwater
Moscow Food Co-op
Palouse Group of the Sierra Club
Idaho Conservation League, North Idaho Office
Some Facts About Idaho State Intervention re: Water Management in Moscow
On Monday, November 24, at the invitation of the City of Moscow, Karl
Dreher, Director of IDWR, spoke at the City's water workshop. He
addressed possibilities for State involvement in the management of our
water resource. At that meeting he indicated he would hold a public
hearing in Moscow before making any decisions as to appropriate action
for managing our water resource, with the date likely to be set for
January. He also stated that though he has discretionary power over the
final plan for managing our aquifers, he can not act arbitrarily. He
must act in accordance with Idaho Law.
If the State intervenes, it will be because the law requires the State
to do so. It is the belief of the filers of the petition that the State
will have to intervene, as the Grand Ronde aquifer is dropping at a rate
faster than it is recharging which is called "groundwater mining".
If the State intervenes, there will be an advisory board, as promised by
Karl Dreher, director of IDWR, comprised of city representatives, water
conservationists, and economic development advisors. This board would
be composed of local citizens and, likely, would be acting in
conjunction with the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC).
All water in the State of Idaho is owned by the State, not local
municipalities, and the codes mentioned above are there to protect
citizens in cases where local government does not act in the public's
best interest. In the case of the Grande Ronde aquifer, it is dropping
between 1.5 and 2 feet per year. If you look at studies posted at the
Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee's (PBAC's) web site, you will find that
hydrologists are unsure about the length of time before the aquifer
doesn't deliver. You will see numbers ranging from 20 years to 500.
MCA board members have contacted local hydrogeologists in pursuit of
numbers of years and/or numbers of gallons before we run dry. So far,
no one can give us a solid answer. There are too many variables and too
many unknowns for scientists to guarantee any projections. One of the
unknown variables is the rate at which Moscow will grow, and, concurrent
with that growth, at what rate it will place increased demand on our
water resource. It is the hope of the constituent groups who have
petitioned IDWR as stated above, that proper water conservation planning
will lead to sustainable growth in Moscow, growth that insures we have a
plentiful source of safe drinking water for future generations.
About Moscow and the 1992 Groundwater Management Plan
The City of Moscow has been non-compliant with its 1992 agreement with
the entities of Pullman, U of I, and WSU (commonly known as the 1992
Groundwater Management Plan), for seven years. For seven years we have
exceeded our per annum pumpage goals. Dale Ralston, hydrogeologist and
author of the research for this agreement, spoke at the June 23, 2003,
water hearing held by the City of Moscow. He said the goals as set
forth in the GMP were optimistic. Even if we were to reach those
pumpage goals, we would not likely see stabilization of our Grande Ronde
aquifer. Moscow's compliance with the 1992 GMP goals could not be
mandated by PBAC, as PBAC has no regulatory authority, so the City
continued, against the best interest of the community at large, to
increase demand on a declining aquifer.
Why MCA Got Involved
MCA acted in conjunction with other local groups not to put a halt to
development, but, rather, to see that a plan is implemented that will
insure we have clean available water not only in ten years, but in
fifty, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand. For the sake of our
children and our children's children, this planning is our
responsibility, and a responsible position for our community. IDWR has
shown itself to work with local advisory boards on plans that make
sense. It's time for careful planning. This means that development
plans that come before the city need to address our water situation and
see to it that conservation measures are built into the plans. It means
citizens living here need incentives to conserve and mandatory watering
restrictions need to be put into effect. Everyone living in the Palouse
Basin should think very carefully about how often they dump 10,000 to
24,000 year old, clear, pristine, water on their lawns, when the option
of surface water storage and treatment is very expensive and results in
water of inferior quality. There are other issues of concern when
considering diversion of surface water into ponds or injection into an
aquifer, perhaps the most important being the worry of pesticide
contamination. It only makes sense for people to educate themselves to
this reality: As much as we'd like the giving tree to give all we want,
there is a finite quantity of fruit. It's time to think, collectively,
about our diet.
Specific Action of the "Water Coalition"
In June, 2003 a coalition of local groups met with the City Council to
discuss reducing water consumption in the City to return to compliance
with the 1992 Groundwater Management Plan. If the Council took decisive
steps, the coalition would hold a petition to the Idaho Department of
Water Resources (IDWR) in abeyance. The Council called for voluntary
conservation measures despite coalition concerns that these measures
would prove inadequate. Indeed, total City pumpage volumes for June,
July and August were over 13% higher than the same time period for 2002
(and over 20% higher than for 2001).
The Council also agreed to quarterly progress meetings with the
coalition. While coalition members were contacting the City repeatedly
in September and October to set this meeting, the City and PBAC were
working behind the scenes talking with Karl Dreher, Director of IDWR
lobbying for Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) status as a means to
protect the status quo. In a letter dated October 29, 2003, Mayor
Comstock references a meeting (conference call) between Larry Kirkland,
Dale Ralston, Gary Riedner and Karl Dreher on 10-20-03. The letter also
requests a designation of a Groundwater Management Area rather than a
Critical Groundwater Area (CGA) and invites Mr. Dreher to meet with City
officials in Moscow on November 24. While the coalition was keeping its
end of the deal, the City was working to mute our voices. A GWMA
designation does not require a public hearing, while a CGA designation
does. We knew we had to take action.
The Background
Public discourse on our decline in groundwater levels is documented on
the PBAC web site
beginning with the formation in 1967 of the Pullman-Moscow Water
Resources Committee (PMWRC). See below: PBAC History. Still, in 2003,
our Grande Ronde aquifer is declining at the rate of 1.5 to 2 feet per
year. Citizens have been frustrated for many years leading up to the
April 2003 organizing but have refrained from filing a petition to the
State. The coalition decided the City needed an incentive to work
toward implementing water conservation, so we drafted a petition to IDWR
that we did not intend to file in the event the City starting making
serious gains toward meeting conservation goals as put forth in the 1992
GMP. That did not happen.
Time Line: Water Coalition and the City
04-21-03 PWCN moves petition idea forward; begins forming coalition.
04-29-03 Coalition meeting with attorney Rachael Paschal Osborne and
representatives from PWCN, FOC, ICL, MCA, SC, PCEI; Co-op rep unavailable
05-06-03 Initial petition copy received from Rachael; discussion
about Public Relations--stay on message, stay with a positive message,
work in collaboration with the city
05-14-03 City and UI contacted regarding setting up meetings
05-27-03 Mark Solomon and Dianne French meet with County
Commissioners regarding potential of petition
06-03-03 Mark Solomon and Bill French meet with UI (Jay Becker and
Ken White) regarding potential of petition and specifically discussing
the aquaculture center at UI
06-09-03 Initial meeting between coalition and council; Mark Solomon
represents coalition; council members Mack and Busch respond "This is a
gun to our heads."; mayor agrees to hold special workshop meeting on
06-23-03
06-11-03 Mark Cook drafts letter with ideas for reducing pumping so
City can retroactively be in compliance with 1992 Groundwater Management
Plan
06-13-03 Mark Cook and Gary Riedner meet with coalition members
06-23-03 City takes step of restricting outdoor watering to between
6 pm and 9am on a voluntary--despite the coalition's plea for mandatory
restrictions--basis during the watering season between June 1 and
September 15; commits $25,000 to hire water conservation consultant;
makes additional data available to Health and Environment Commission to
assist their development of water conservation plan (but still not all
of the data that had been requested in 12-02); agrees to provide monthly
usage/pumpage data; agrees to quarterly reviews between City and
Coalition indicating a willingness to "step up" measures if pumping does
not decline. Mark Cook leaves position as Moscow's director of Public
Works.
08-28-03 Gary Riedner contacted regarding lack of progress on
reducing water use. H&E drafts letter asking council to clarify end of
watering season. H&E believes this to mean no more outdoor irrigation
after 9-15 (with certain exceptions such as hand watering or watering in
newly seeded areas)
09-08-03 Public Works/Finance Committee meeting. Dianne French
discusses above letter with them and finds Council believes this to mean
that the voluntary "daylight watering ban" is no longer in force and
folks can water whenever they'd like. Mike Thomason asks, "Before next
watering season we'll have a plan?" Gary Riedner answers, "Absolutely."
09-15-03 At the Council meeting a date of Nov 1 is determined as the
end of the watering (ban) season. Mike Thomason asks that the City
review this over the winter or with the water conservation consultant to
plan ahead for next year
09-26-03 Coalition sends letter to Gary Riedner indicating pumping is
up 13% over last summer and 8% for the year-to-date and asks for a
meeting date to be set for the quarterly meeting that was agreed to in June
10-14-03 Mark Solomon meets with Gary Riedner to set date for
quarterly meeting; meeting refused by City
10-16-03 Report from today's PBAC meeting:
Dale Ralston, retired hydrogeologist from UI, who is now a paid
consultant of PBAC, reported on a meeting with Karl Dreher, Director of
IDWR. According to Dale, "Karl is fully aware of Moscow's violation of
state law with regard to mining of groundwater and feels he would have
no choice but to grant a petition requesting designation of a critical
groundwater area on the Idaho side of the Palouse basin, should he
receive such a petition. But Karl otherwise is not inclined to take
action that would be unilateral (i.e. not binding on Washington side)"
(This isn't an exact quotation, but pretty close.) Of greater interest
is the fact that PBAC appears to be entering negotiations with IDWR to
declare a groundwater management area for the Idaho side of the Palouse
basin, with the understanding that the pre-existing declaration of a GMA
would preclude or "blunt" a petition to declare the critical
designation. Dale's discussion with Karl apparently resolved in no
uncertain terms that the critical designation would carry with it a de
facto moratorium on any new water development, while the GMA would not.
Further, under a GMA designation, IDWR would probably accept PBAC's
Groundwater Management Plan as sufficient local action toward
stabilizing groundwater levels (even though it dates from 1992 and is
based on a groundwater model that has been proven to be invalid and
goals set forth in it are not currently projected to stabilize our GR
aquifer). Essentially, PBAC is trying to get IDWR in a position to
maintain the status quo and derail any attempt by another group to
enforce changes in the management of local groundwater or have a voice
with IDWR.
10-20-03 Unbeknownst to the coalition, Larry Kirkland goes to Boise
to meet with Karl Dreher. They hold a conference call with Karl Dreher,
Larry Kirkland, Gary Riedner, and Dale Ralston.
11-10-03 Mark Solomon asks Gary Riedner again when the City and
Coalition will be meeting to review what is being done. Gary Riedner
responds to Mark that a Council workshop has been set for 11-24-03 and
that that date had been discussed on 10-14-03. There is no record of
any previous discussion of the 11-24 date, and the coalition is again
not put on the agenda for its promised quarterly check-in.
11-13-03 Coalition finds out that on 10-29-03 the Mayor drafted a
letter to Karl Dreher requesting a designation of a Groundwater
Management Area rather than a Critical Groundwater Area, inviting Mr.
Dreher to meet with City officials in Moscow and discussing the meeting
of 10-20-03. As Mark Solomon writes, "It speaks volumes that the City
did not include the coalition in the discussion's leading up to this
letter or even tell us they were happening. The City refused to meet
with the coalition in October as was promised at our June meeting;
failed to inform us when the Council would place this on the agenda
until just this week despite my meeting with staff and Steve Busch and
specifically requesting to be informed as soon as it was known; did not
inform me at our 10/14 meeting that they would be meeting with the
director 10/20; and now is apparently having off-the-record
deliberations...To my knowledge, this has not been discussed in any city
committee or council meeting. As you can see from the initials at the
bottom, the author is Gary, the signature Marshall's.
11-20-03 Draft minutes from the 10-16-03 PBAC were received and
contain this statement: In the discussion that followed, Dale [Ralston]
said the designation of the Idaho portion of the Palouse Basin as a
Ground Water Management Area would not curtail any existing water rights
but it could offer protection against a possible court forced
designation of Critical GWMA, which likely would limit growth in the
Moscow area.
11-21-03 Water Coalition files a petition to the Idaho Department of
Water Resources asking the director, Karl Dreher, to declare the Grande
Ronde Aquifer a Critical Groundwater Area and the Wanapum Aquifer a
Groundwater Management Area.
11-24-03 City Council held a "water workshop" which included a
presentation by Karl Dreher and allowed for some questions, but did not
address the coalition's original request for a discussion and an outline
from the City as to what additional steps they would take to reduce
rather than increase pumping. They also set a date of December 15 (7:30
p.m. in Council Chambers) for a public hearing on this matter.
11-26-03 It is decided that the 12-15 meeting will be a joint meeting
with the Latah County Commissioners.
12-4-03 Jon Kimberling drafts a letter to Vision 2020 asking for
information about members of the water coalition and information about
how these groups make decisions. In that letter, he erroneously states
that a critical groundwater area designation would "impose a moratorium
on any new water hookups in Moscow." Regarding moratoriums, the
petition actually requests:
(3) Impose a moratorium on the processing and approval of all pending
and new applications for permits to appropriate water from the Grande
Ronde, Wanapum and shallow/alluvial aquifers within or tributary to the
Moscow groundwater subbasin, pending adoption and implementation of a
plan to stabilize groundwater levels and provide for a sustainable water
supply for area residents.
(4) Impose a moratorium on further development of the inchoate portion
of any existing water permit authorizing the withdrawal of water from
the Grande Ronde aquifer.
As the water coalition's attorney, Rachael Paschal Osborn, puts it:
Kimberling has mis-characterized the petition. It does not ask IDWR to
stop growth -- it asks the agency to stop the mining of the aquifer, as
the law requires. Future growth must be supplied by conserved water.
It can be done -- but there has to be governmental and civic commitment.
Jon wants to know WHO is a member of these groups, but that information
is private:
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that such information is
protected under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the right to
associate freely.
History of PBAC
(from the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee's web site:
www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac)
The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC) was originally formed as the
Pullman-Moscow Water Resources Committee (PMWRC) in 1967 to address
local concern over the decline in groundwater levels of the
Pullman-Moscow aquifers. The committee was comprised of representatives
from the University of Idaho; the City of Moscow, Idaho; Washington
State University; and the City of Pullman, Washington. The PBAC hired
the consulting firm of Stephens, Thompson and Runyan in 1969 to study
options for obtaining water from surface water sources. Potential
sources included constructing pipelines from the Palouse River near
Laird Park in Pullman, Washington and the Snake River at Wawawai County
Park, in Whitman County (Stevens, Thompson & Runyan, 1970). Both
projects were beyond the financial scope of local communities;
therefore, local stakeholders continued their exclusive dependence on
groundwater. During the next several years, positive steps were taken
toward the development of a groundwater management plan; however, the
PMWRC became inactive in 1976, apparently due to a lack of interest
and/or concern.
In 1982, Professor James Crosby at Washington State University called a
meeting of the PMWRC to share his concern over the continuing decline in
ground water levels. Crosby showed that the water levels were declining
faster than predicted by a groundwater study done in the late 1970's
(Barker 1979). The Barker (1979) study, one of two major groundwater
studies of the Pullman-Moscow basin aquifers co-sponsored by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) (the other was conducted in the late 1980's by
Lum and others (1990)), predicted the decline of groundwater using a
mathematical model. Crosby was concerned because Barker's (1979) model
failed to accurately predict the rate of decline in ground water levels
that had been observed.
In 1984, representatives from the four stakeholders met and discussed
the need to update the well records and develop a groundwater model that
more accurately reflected and predicted reality. At that time the two
cities, the two universities, and the USGS began negotiations with
Professor Dale Ralston of the University of Idaho for development of a
groundwater model that could be utilized to guide groundwater management
in the Palouse basin. The proposal was funded and the study was
completed in 1987 (Lum and others, 1990). The numerical model predicted
that if the cities and universities did not increase their rate of
groundwater pumpage, the water level in the wells would stabilize and
the aquifers could adequately supply the region. Their modeling
predicted that the annual increase in pumpage was the cause in water
level declines.
Meanwhile, in 1987, the Idaho Department of Water Resources became
concerned about the possible "mining" of Palouse area ground water
resources and threatened state action. Idaho water resource guidelines
state that pumping greater quantities of water from an aquifer than is
recharged to the aquifer is unlawful. The very real threat of regulator
intervention and local concern over a possible water supply shortage
resulted in the reactivation of the PMWRC in October of 1987. The
original four stakeholders, the University of Idaho, the City of Moscow,
Washington State University and the City of Pullman, invited Latah and
Whitman Counties to join the PMWRC. The addition of the counties
increased the PMWRC to twelve members, two members from each of the six
stakeholders.
Since groundwater usage in the Palouse region is not limited to the four
main pumping entities, but also includes the thousands of rural
residents who live in the unicorporated areas of the counties
surrounding the two communities and universities, the PMWRC decided to
change its name to the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC) in 1998.
The committee is of the opinion that the new name more accurately
reflects the regional extent of the common groundwater source and its users.
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<div><b>Update on Current Water Conservation Efforts</b></div>
<div><b><br>
</b></div>
<div>For more information, contact:</div>
<div>Dianne French, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dfrench@moscow.com">dfrench@moscow.com</a></div>
<div>Kelley Racicot, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:kelley@moscow.com">kelley@moscow.com</a></div>
<div>Jeanne Clothiaux, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jeanne@turbonet.com">jeanne@turbonet.com</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>Moscow's Grande Ronde aquifer is dropping between 1.5 and 2
feet per year. Discussion of our dropping groundwater supply
became part of formal discussions in 1967 (see PBAC history, below).
The Moscow Civic Association Board of Directors is working to insure
residents have a plentiful supply of water for future generations and
for future sustainable development. For this reason, we have
signed a petition asking the Idaho Department of Water Resources to
declare our Grand Ronde aquifer a Critical Ground Water Area and our
Wanapum Aquifer a Ground Water Management Area. We have put
together this report to inform you as to why we believe this to
be right and necessary action.</b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Idaho Codes 42-233A, 42-233B, and 42-237A, grant authority to the
Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) to step in
and help local communities manage their water resource in cases where
they have not shown proper local management, i.e., "groundwater
mining" is occurring.<br>
<br>
42-233a. "CRITICAL GROUND WATER AREA"
DEFINED --<br>
"Critical ground water area" is defined as any ground water
basin, or<br>
designated part thereof, not having sufficient ground water to provide
a<br>
reasonably safe supply for irrigation of cultivated lands, or other
uses in<br>
the basin at the then current rates of withdrawal, or rates of
withdrawal<br>
projected by consideration of valid and outstanding applications and
permits,<br>
as may be determined and designated, from time to time, by the
director of the<br>
department of water resources.</div>
<div>[requires a public hearing]<br>
<br>
42-233b. GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT AREA.
"Ground water management area" is<br>
defined as any ground water basin or designated part thereof which
the<br>
director of the department of water resources has determined may
be<br>
approaching the conditions of a critical ground water area.</div>
<div>[does not require a public hearing]</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>On Friday, November 21st, The Moscow Civic Association joined
the following groups in the signing of a petition asking IDWR to
declare our Grande Ronde aquifer a Critical Groundwater Area (CGA) and
our Wanapum aquifer a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA):<br>
<br>
Palouse Water Conservation Network<br>
Friends of the Clearwater<br>
Moscow Food Co-op<br>
Palouse Group of the Sierra Club</b></div>
<div><b>Idaho Conservation League, North Idaho Office</b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><u><b>Some Facts About Idaho State Intervention re: Water
Management in Moscow</b></u></div>
<div>On Monday, November 24, at the invitation of the City of Moscow,
Karl Dreher, Director of IDWR, spoke at the City's water workshop.
He addressed possibilities for State involvement in the management of
our water resource. At that meeting he indicated he would hold a
public hearing in Moscow before making any decisions as to appropriate
action for managing our water resource, with the date likely to be set
for January. He also stated that though he has discretionary
power over the final plan for managing our aquifers, he can not act
arbitrarily. He must act in accordance with Idaho Law.</div>
<div><br>
If the State intervenes, it will be because the law requires the State
to do so. It is the belief of the filers of the petition that
the State will have to intervene, as the Grand Ronde aquifer is
dropping at a rate faster than it is recharging which is called
"groundwater mining".<br>
<br>
If the State intervenes, there will be an advisory board, as promised
by Karl Dreher, director of IDWR, comprised of city representatives,
water conservationists, and economic development advisors. This
board would be composed of local citizens and, likely, would be acting
in conjunction with the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC).<br>
</div>
<div><b>All water in the State of Idaho is owned by the State</b>, not
local municipalities, and the codes mentioned above are there to
protect citizens in cases where local government does not act in the
public's best interest. <b> In the case of the Grande Ronde
aquifer, it is dropping between 1.5 and 2 feet per year.</b>
If you look at studies posted at the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee's
(PBAC's) web site, you will find that hydrologists are unsure about
the length of time before the aquifer doesn't deliver. You will
see numbers ranging from 20 years to 500. MCA board members have
contacted local hydrogeologists in pursuit of numbers of years and/or
numbers of gallons before we run dry. So far, no one can give us
a solid answer. There are<b> too many variables and too many
unknowns</b> for scientists to guarantee any projections. One of
the unknown variables is the rate at which Moscow will grow, and,
concurrent with that growth, at what rate it will place increased
demand on our water resource. It is the hope of the constituent
groups who have petitioned IDWR as stated above, that proper water
conservation planning will lead to sustainable growth in Moscow,
growth that insures we have a plentiful source of safe drinking water
for future generations.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><u><b>About Moscow and the 1992 Groundwater Management
Plan</b></u></div>
<div>The City of Moscow has been non-compliant with its 1992 agreement
with the entities of Pullman, U of I, and WSU (commonly known as the
1992 Groundwater Management Plan), for seven years. For seven
years we have exceeded our per annum pumpage goals. Dale
Ralston, hydrogeologist and author of the research for this agreement,
spoke at the June 23, 2003, water hearing held by the City of Moscow.
He said the goals as set forth in the GMP were optimistic. Even
if we were to reach those pumpage goals, we would not likely see
stabilization of our Grande Ronde aquifer. Moscow's compliance
with the 1992 GMP goals could not be mandated by PBAC, as PBAC has no
regulatory authority, so the City continued, against the best interest
of the community at large, to increase demand on a declining
aquifer.<br>
</div>
<div><u><b>Why MCA Got Involved</b></u></div>
<div>MCA acted in conjunction with other local groups not to put a
halt to development, but, rather, to see that a plan is implemented
that will insure we have clean available water not only in ten years,
but in fifty, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand. For the sake
of our children and our children's children, this planning is our
responsibility, and a responsible position for our community.
IDWR has shown itself to work with local advisory boards on plans that
make sense. It's time for careful planning. This means
that development plans that come before the city need to address our
water situation and see to it that conservation measures are built
into the plans. It means citizens living here need incentives to
conserve and mandatory watering restrictions need to be put into
effect. Everyone living in the Palouse Basin should think very
carefully about how often they dump 10,000 to 24,000 year old, clear,
pristine, water on their lawns, when the option of surface water
storage and treatment is very expensive and results in water of
inferior quality. There are other issues of concern when
considering diversion of surface water into ponds or injection into an
aquifer, perhaps the most important being the worry of pesticide
contamination. It only makes sense for people to educate
themselves to this reality: As much as we'd like the giving tree
to give all we want, there is a finite quantity of fruit. It's
time to think, collectively, about our diet.<br>
</div>
<div><u><b>Specific Action of the "Water
Coalition"</b></u><br>
In June, 2003 a coalition of local groups met with the City Council to
discuss reducing water consumption in the City to return to compliance
with the 1992 Groundwater Management Plan. If the Council took
decisive steps, the coalition would hold a petition to the Idaho
Department of Water Resources (IDWR) in abeyance. The Council
called for voluntary conservation measures despite coalition concerns
that these measures would prove inadequate. Indeed, total City pumpage
volumes for June, July and August were over 13% higher than the same
time period for 2002 (and over 20% higher than for 2001).<br>
<br>
The Council also agreed to quarterly progress meetings with the
coalition. While coalition members were contacting the City repeatedly
in September and October to set this meeting, the City and PBAC were
working behind the scenes talking with Karl Dreher, Director of IDWR
lobbying for Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) status as a means to
protect the status quo. In a letter dated October 29, 2003,
Mayor Comstock references a meeting (conference call) between Larry
Kirkland, Dale Ralston, Gary Riedner and Karl Dreher on 10-20-03.
The letter also requests a designation of a Groundwater Management
Area rather than a Critical Groundwater Area (CGA) and invites Mr.
Dreher to meet with City officials in Moscow on November 24.
While the coalition was keeping its end of the deal, the City was
working to mute our voices. A GWMA designation does not require
a public hearing, while a CGA designation does. We knew we had
to take action.<br>
</div>
<div><u><b>The Background</b> </u></div>
<div>Public discourse on our decline in groundwater levels is
documented on the PBAC web site<br>
beginning with the formation in 1967 of the Pullman-Moscow Water
Resources Committee (PMWRC). See below: PBAC History.
Still, in 2003, our Grande Ronde aquifer is declining at the rate of
1.5 to 2 feet per year. Citizens have been frustrated for many
years leading up to the April 2003 organizing but have refrained from
filing a petition to the State. The coalition decided the City
needed an incentive to work toward implementing water conservation, so
we drafted a petition to IDWR that we did not intend to file in the
event the City starting making serious gains toward meeting
conservation goals as put forth in the 1992 GMP. That did not
happen.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><u><b>Time Line: Water Coalition and the City</b></u></div>
<div><b>04-21-03</b> PWCN moves petition idea
forward; begins forming coalition.<br>
</div>
<div><b>04-29-03</b> Coalition meeting with attorney
Rachael Paschal Osborne and representatives from PWCN, FOC, ICL, MCA,
SC, PCEI; Co-op rep unavailable<br>
</div>
<div><b>05-06-03</b> Initial petition copy received
from Rachael; discussion about Public Relations--stay on message, stay
with a positive message, work in collaboration with the city<br>
</div>
<div><b>05-14-03</b> City and UI contacted regarding
setting up meetings<br>
</div>
<div><b>05-27-03</b> Mark Solomon and Dianne French
meet with County Commissioners regarding potential of petition<br>
</div>
<div><b>06-03-03 </b> Mark Solomon and Bill French
meet with UI (Jay Becker and Ken White) regarding potential of
petition and specifically discussing the aquaculture center at UI<br>
</div>
<div><b>06-09-03 </b> Initial meeting between
coalition and council; Mark Solomon represents coalition; council
members Mack and Busch respond "This is a gun to our
heads."; mayor agrees to hold special workshop meeting on
06-23-03</div>
<div><br>
<b>06-11-03 </b> Mark Cook drafts letter with ideas
for reducing pumping so City can retroactively be in compliance with
1992 Groundwater Management Plan<br>
</div>
<div><b>06-13-03 </b> Mark Cook and Gary Riedner meet
with coalition members<br>
</div>
<div><b>06-23-03</b> City takes step of
restricting outdoor watering to between 6 pm and 9am on a
voluntary--despite the coalition's plea for mandatory
restrictions--basis during the watering season between June 1 and
September 15; commits $25,000 to hire water conservation consultant;
makes additional data available to Health and Environment Commission
to assist their development of water conservation plan (but still not
all of the data that had been requested in 12-02); agrees to provide
monthly usage/pumpage data; agrees to quarterly reviews between City
and Coalition indicating a willingness to "step up" measures
if pumping does not decline. Mark Cook leaves position as
Moscow's director of Public Works.<br>
</div>
<div><b>08-28-03</b> Gary Riedner contacted
regarding lack of progress on reducing water use. H&E drafts
letter asking council to clarify end of watering season. H&E
believes this to mean no more outdoor irrigation after 9-15 (with
certain exceptions such as hand watering or watering in newly seeded
areas)<br>
</div>
<div><b>09-08-03</b> Public Works/Finance Committee
meeting. Dianne French discusses above letter with them and
finds Council believes this to mean that the voluntary "daylight
watering ban" is no longer in force and folks can water whenever
they'd like. Mike Thomason asks, "Before next watering
season we'll have a plan?" Gary Riedner answers,
"Absolutely."<br>
</div>
<div><b>09-15-03</b> At the Council meeting a
date of Nov 1 is determined as the end of the watering (ban) season.
Mike Thomason asks that the City review this over the winter or with
the water conservation consultant to plan ahead for next year<br>
</div>
<div><b>09-26-03 </b> Coalition sends letter to Gary
Riedner indicating pumping is up 13% over last summer and 8% for the
year-to-date and asks for a meeting date to be set for the quarterly
meeting that was agreed to in June<br>
</div>
<div><b>10-14-03</b> Mark Solomon meets with Gary
Riedner to set date for quarterly meeting; meeting refused by City<br>
</div>
<div><b>10-16-03</b> Report from today's PBAC
meeting:<br>
<br>
Dale Ralston, retired hydrogeologist from UI, who is now a paid
consultant of PBAC, reported on a meeting with Karl Dreher, Director
of IDWR. According to Dale, "Karl is fully aware of
Moscow's violation of state law with regard to mining of groundwater
and feels he would have no choice but to grant a petition requesting
designation of a critical groundwater area on the Idaho side of the
Palouse basin, should he receive such a petition. But Karl
otherwise is not inclined to take action that would be unilateral
(i.e. not binding on Washington side)" (This isn't an exact
quotation, but pretty close.) Of greater interest is the fact
that PBAC appears to be entering negotiations with IDWR to declare a
groundwater management area for the Idaho side of the Palouse basin,
with the understanding that the pre-existing declaration of a GMA
would preclude or "blunt" a petition to declare the critical
designation. Dale's discussion with Karl apparently resolved in
no uncertain terms that the critical designation would carry with it a
de facto moratorium on any new water development, while the GMA would
not. Further, under a GMA designation, IDWR would probably
accept PBAC's Groundwater Management Plan as sufficient local action
toward stabilizing groundwater levels (even though it dates from 1992
and is based on a groundwater model that has been proven to be invalid
and goals set forth in it are not currently projected to stabilize our
GR aquifer). Essentially, PBAC is trying to get IDWR in a
position to maintain the status quo and derail any attempt by another
group to enforce changes in the management of local groundwater or
have a voice with IDWR.</div>
<div><br>
<b>10-20-03</b> Unbeknownst to the coalition, Larry
Kirkland goes to Boise to meet with Karl Dreher. They hold a
conference call with Karl Dreher, Larry Kirkland, Gary Riedner, and
Dale Ralston.<br>
</div>
<div><b>11-10-03 </b> Mark Solomon asks Gary Riedner
again when the City and Coalition will be meeting to review what is
being done. Gary Riedner responds to Mark that a Council
workshop has been set for 11-24-03 and that that date had been
discussed on 10-14-03. There is no record of any previous
discussion of the 11-24 date, and the coalition is again not put on
the agenda for its promised quarterly check-in.<br>
</div>
<div><b>11-13-03 </b> Coalition finds out that on
10-29-03 the Mayor drafted a letter to Karl Dreher requesting a
designation of a Groundwater Management Area rather than a Critical
Groundwater Area, inviting Mr. Dreher to meet with City officials in
Moscow and discussing the meeting of 10-20-03. As Mark Solomon
writes, "It speaks volumes that the City did not include the
coalition in the discussion's leading up to this letter or even tell
us they were happening. The City refused to meet with the coalition in
October as was promised at our June meeting; failed to inform us when
the Council would place this on the agenda until just this week
despite my meeting with staff and Steve Busch and specifically
requesting to be informed as soon as it was known; did not inform me
at our 10/14 meeting that they would be meeting with the director
10/20; and now is apparently having off-the-record deliberations...To
my knowledge, this has not been discussed in any city committee or
council meeting. As you can see from the initials at the bottom, the
author is Gary, the signature Marshall's.<br>
</div>
<div><b>11-20-03 </b> Draft minutes from the 10-16-03
PBAC were received and contain this statement: In the discussion
that followed, Dale [Ralston] said the designation of the Idaho
portion of the Palouse Basin as a Ground Water Management Area would
not curtail any existing water rights but it could offer protection
against a possible court forced designation of Critical GWMA, which
likely would limit growth in the Moscow area.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>11-21-03</b> Water Coalition files a petition to
the Idaho Department of Water Resources asking the director, Karl
Dreher, to declare the Grande Ronde Aquifer a Critical Groundwater
Area and the Wanapum Aquifer a Groundwater Management Area.</div>
<div><br>
<b>11-24-03</b> City Council held a "water
workshop" which included a presentation by Karl Dreher and
allowed for some questions, but did not address the coalition's
original request for a discussion and an outline from the City as to
what additional steps they would take to reduce rather than increase
pumping. They also set a date of December 15 (7:30 p.m. in
Council Chambers) for a public hearing on this matter.<br>
</div>
<div><b>11-26-03 </b> It is decided that the 12-15
meeting will be a joint meeting with the Latah County
Commissioners.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>12-4-03</b> Jon Kimberling drafts a letter
to Vision 2020 asking for information about members of the water
coalition and information about how these groups make decisions.
In that letter, he erroneously states that a critical groundwater area
designation would "impose a moratorium on any new water hookups
in Moscow." Regarding moratoriums, the petition<i>
actually</i> requests:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><font face="Tahoma" size="+1" color="#000000">(3) Impose a
moratorium on the processing and approval of all pending and new
applications for permits to appropriate water from the Grande Ronde,
Wanapum and shallow/alluvial aquifers within or tributary to the
Moscow groundwater subbasin, pending adoption and implementation of a
plan to stabilize groundwater levels and provide for a sustainable
water supply for area residents.</font></div>
<div><font face="Tahoma" size="+1" color="#000000">(4) Impose a
moratorium on further development of the inchoate portion of any
existing water permit authorizing the withdrawal of water from the
Grande Ronde aquifer.</font></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>As the water coalition's attorney, Rachael Paschal Osborn,
puts it:</b></div>
<div>Kimberling has mis-characterized the petition. It does not
ask IDWR to stop growth -- it asks the agency to stop the mining of
the aquifer, as the law requires. Future growth must be supplied
by conserved water. It can be done -- but there has
to be governmental and civic commitment.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Jon wants to know WHO is a member of these groups, but that
information is private:</div>
<div>The United States Supreme Court has ruled that such information
is protected under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the
right to associate freely.</div>
<div><br>
<u><b>History of PBAC</b></u></div>
<div><b>(from the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee's web site:
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac">www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac</a>)</b><br>
The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC) was originally formed as
the Pullman-Moscow Water Resources Committee (PMWRC) in 1967 to
address local concern over the decline in groundwater levels of the
Pullman-Moscow aquifers. The committee was comprised of
representatives from the University of Idaho; the City of Moscow,
Idaho; Washington State University; and the City of Pullman,
Washington. The PBAC hired the consulting firm of Stephens, Thompson
and Runyan in 1969 to study options for obtaining water from surface
water sources. Potential sources included constructing pipelines from
the Palouse River near Laird Park in Pullman, Washington and the Snake
River at Wawawai County Park, in Whitman County (Stevens, Thompson
&
Runyan, 1970). Both projects were beyond the financial scope of local
communities; therefore, local stakeholders continued their exclusive
dependence on groundwater. During the next several years, positive
steps were taken toward the development of a groundwater management
plan; however, the PMWRC became inactive in 1976, apparently due to a
lack of interest and/or concern.<br>
<br>
In 1982, Professor James Crosby at Washington State University called
a meeting of the PMWRC to share his concern over the continuing
decline in ground water levels. Crosby showed that the water levels
were declining faster than predicted by a groundwater study done in
the late 1970's (Barker 1979). The Barker (1979) study, one of two
major groundwater studies of the Pullman-Moscow basin aquifers
co-sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (the other was
conducted in the late 1980's by Lum and others (1990)), predicted the
decline of groundwater using a mathematical model. Crosby was
concerned because Barker's (1979) model failed to accurately predict
the rate of decline in ground water levels that had been observed.<br>
<br>
In 1984, representatives from the four stakeholders met and discussed
the need to update the well records and develop a groundwater model
that more accurately reflected and predicted reality. At that time the
two cities, the two universities, and the USGS began negotiations with
Professor Dale Ralston of the University of Idaho for development of a
groundwater model that could be utilized to guide groundwater
management in the Palouse basin. The proposal was funded and the study
was completed in 1987 (Lum and others, 1990). The numerical model
predicted that if the cities and universities did not increase their
rate of groundwater pumpage, the water level in the wells would
stabilize and the aquifers could adequately supply the region. Their
modeling predicted that the annual increase in pumpage was the cause
in water level declines.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, in 1987, the Idaho Department of Water Resources became
concerned about the possible "mining" of Palouse area ground
water resources and threatened state action. Idaho water resource
guidelines state that pumping greater quantities of water from an
aquifer than is recharged to the aquifer is unlawful. The very real
threat of regulator intervention and local concern over a possible
water supply shortage resulted in the reactivation of the PMWRC in
October of 1987. The original four stakeholders, the University of
Idaho, the City of Moscow, Washington State University and the City of
Pullman, invited Latah and Whitman Counties to join the PMWRC. The
addition of the counties increased the PMWRC to twelve members, two
members from each of the six stakeholders.<br>
<br>
Since groundwater usage in the Palouse region is not limited to the
four main pumping entities, but also includes the thousands of rural
residents who live in the unicorporated areas of the counties
surrounding the two communities and universities, the PMWRC decided to
change its name to the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC) in 1998.
The committee is of the opinion that the new name more accurately
reflects the regional extent of the common groundwater source and its
users.</div>
</div>
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