[Vision2020] Water: What is missing
Mark Solomon
msolomon at moscow.com
Wed Apr 26 09:26:22 PDT 2006
National average water use for a family of 4 is @
78 gallons per person per day. Same with
customary but not extraordinary conservation
measures taken is 54 gallons per person per day.
I remember the numbers but not the cite right now.
Wayne hit it on the head: it takes political
leadership to address the issue. Aaron Ament, as
the Council's representative to PBAC, has taken a
very active interest in the issue. I look forward
to his leadership at the City level on this issue.
Mark
At 9:16 AM -0700 4/26/06, James Reynolds wrote:
>I believe that we should do whatever necessary
>to increase our water supply. When the Palouse
>was settled and made into a wheat producing
>landscape many small ponds, wetlands and such
>were drained off. These drained areas were
>perhaps the recharge engines for our upper
>aquifer. How about reclaiming some (many) of
>these areas for this? Federal, State, maybe even
>county technical asistence (maybe some
>monetary) would be available to start such a
>program and I expect our ever-growing urban
>farmer population on their 40 acre tracts would
>be interested in having a pond etc..
>
>
>
>Also I remember hearing about an artesian well
>on Doc. Lucas's (Bless him) property south of
>moscow. That site and potentially others might
>be developed to provide catch/holding basins
>(his is in bedrock I think) for water that might
>be sold to the city or on a smaller scale sold
>to neighbors for irrigation.
>
>
>
>The problem with the emphasis on conservation is
>that it really does impact the quality of life
>for many who looked forward to gardening their
>home lot and making it a masterpiece of
>tranquility. contrary to some on the list, I see
>no evil in wanting your grounds to be a preserve
>in which to sooth ones soul. I also don't think
>we are doing anything about increasing the water
>available to keep Moscow the beautiful green
>place it is. We haven't even begun to work on
>the problem and already it seems the consensus
>is to relegate Latah to a desert environment.
>That is not what Latah county is by any measure,
>we just have not worked hard enough in making it
>remain the paradise that it is.
>
>
>
>Another thing...is there available a chart/graph
>that shows how much water a family should use to
>be considered unhoglike? It would be interesting
>to know how much water we should expect to use
>for the things we do.
>
>
>
>My toilets work fine and I surely don't want to
>mess with something that critical when they are
>good now.
>
>
>
>James
>
>
> > From: deco at moscow.com
>> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Water: What is missing
>> Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 08:00:50 -0700
>>
>> Thank you Nils for the comment which is really at the heart of the matter:
>>
>> "If the assertion in #1 [A large enough segment of the Moscow electorate
>> willing to be educated on this issue. There are many people who believe
>> that the water issue is not that important at this time.] is true, many
>> people don't believe its an issue, then I doubt the rest of the items can
>> follow."
>>
>> Mark Solomon and Bill and Diane French of the Palouse Water Conservation
>> Network (PWCN) have devoted substantial amounts of time and effort
>> attempting to educate us about the aquifer and water
>> usage/replenishment/conservation.
>>
>> [For example, a recent post by Mark Solomon (reposted below) about the
>>
>>amount of water usage need to support the proposed Super WalMart should be a
>> real eye opener.]
>>
>> Although PBAC (Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee) continues important work on
>> the subject, they and their former leader Larry Kirkland, lost a lot of
>> credibility and in my opinion did a great deal of damage to the water
>> conservation effort by Kirkland's endorsement of the Naylor Farms proposal
>> and by their tepid response to the WSU golf course proposal [and now a plan
>> becoming reality.]
>>
>> Besides the efforts of Solomon and the Frenches, we need political leaders
> > who not only talk the game by give cheer-leader type speeches on the
>> subject, but ones who will dig in to come up with, finance, and lead a
>> multi-prong program carefully designed to educate the electorate and to
>>
>>motivate them enough to be willing to conserve. This is not a small task as
>> you can see by the responses on this forum.
>>
>> Mark's water budget concept is an excellent proposal. It needs courageous,
>> relentless political support. That support will be hard to come by without
>> a majority of the electorate willing to make some major changes/sacrifices
>> both little and big in their water consumption habits. That's why a lot of
>> education, much of it repetitive but tantalizingly packaged in a number of
>> different, effective ways, needs to be done and done well.
>>
>>
>> Wayne A. Fox
>> 1009 Karen Lane
>> PO Box 9421
>> Moscow, ID 83843
>>
>> (208) 882-7975
>> waf at moscow.com
>>
>>
>>
>>__________________________________________________________________________________
>> To add another piece to the water thread, there is the issue of how we
>> support growth and development in Moscow when we are at or beyond the
>> ability of our aquifers to supply water to the city.
>>
>>
>>
>>Fact: the deep Grande Ronde aquifer has no identified recharge mechanism and
>> continues to fall 1-2'/year.
>>
>>
>>
>>Fact: the upper Wanapum aquifer recharges seasonally (winter runoff) through
>> mechanisms not quite identified (the ongoing Latah County Hydrogeological
>> Characterization Project is designed to answer that question) but the
>>
>>current rate of withdrawal from the Wanapum exceeds the recharge. Historical
>> pumping records indicate that Wanapum well levels may drop precipitously
>> within 15 years.
>>
>>
>> Fact: the City of Moscow is signatory to the regional Palouse Basin Aquifer
>> Agreement which requires each pumping entity (Moscow, Pullman, UI, WSU) to
>> limit increases in pumping to 1% annually and to not exceed a total cap of
>> 125% of the total volume pumped as an average of the years 1982-1987 for a
>> cap of 875 million gallons/year (MGY). It was hoped that limiting pumping
>> increases would allow the aquifer levels to stabilize. They were wrong.
>>
>>
>>
>>Fact: From 1994 to 2003, Moscow exceeded its 1% annual growth limit and from
>> 1998-2003 its 875 mgy cap.
>>
>>
>> Fact: After Moscow area conservation and civic groups filed a petition with
>> the State asking for designation of Moscow area aquifers as Critical
>> Groundwater Management Areas and Groundwater Management Areas the City
>> implemented mandatory landscape irrigation measures that reduced the amount
>> of water pumped by the City from 919 MGY in 2003 to 819 MGY in 2005.
>> (Bravo!) 2005 was the first year since the city signed the PBAC agreement
>> that it was in compliance with the agreement.
>>
>>
>> Fact: Moscow City wells (with the exception of Wells 6&8 which have had
>> their pumping significantly decreased due to internal piping issues)
>> continue to have declining water levels despite the conservation efforts of
>> people and businesses across the city.
>>
>>
>> Fact: the SuperWalmart developer, on page 6 of his application for a rezone
>> of the Thompson property across from the cemetery, forecasts full build out
>>
>>at 1.5 million square foot of commercial space. The applicant predicts water
>> useage based on full build out at over 62 MGY. Full build out would
>> increase water pumped by 7.6% above current levels violating the 1% annual
>>
>>increase. Full build out will also cause the City to exceed its absolute cap
>> of 875 mgy.
>>
>>
>>
>>Question: Is this how we want to use the water we have conserved? Do we want
>> to give all our water to Walmart?
>>
>>
>> Answer: The City Council is holding a public hearing on Walmart's proposed
>> rezone 5/1, 7:00 pm , Council Chambers (unless they move it to someplace
>> where all the people who are likely to attend can actually fit in the
>> room...)
>>
>>
>> Mark Solomon
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Nils Peterson" <nils_peterson at wsu.edu>
>> To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 10:13 PM
> > Subject: [Vision2020] Water: What is missing
>>
>>
>> > This is a good list, and some clear challenges. If the assertion in #1 is
>> > true, many people don't believe its an issue, then I doubt the rest of the
>> > items can follow.
>> >
>> > Is it possible that many think a declining aquifer might be a problem, but
>> > they don't think they can affect a solution, or that a solution might be
>> > financially costly to them, or that a solution might have negative impacts
>> > on the city (read, no growth).
>> >
>> >
>> > Art Deco writes:
>> >> Nils asks:
>> >>
>> >> "What is missing to put this into action?"
>> >>
>> >> Among other things that may or may not be missing but whose existence is
>> >> vital:
>> >>
>> >> 1. A large enough segment of the Moscow electorate willing to be
>> >> educated
>> >> on this issue. There are many people who believe that the water issue is
>> >> not that important at this time.
>> >>
>> >> 2. Enough informed, willing and able persons to do the one-on-one
>> >> education that it would probably take; the funds that it would take to
>> >> prepare the materials for and to execute the education program.
>> >>
>> >> 3. A majority on the Moscow City Council with enough courage and
>> >> stamina
>> >> to lead, to carefully plan, and to enact the program.
>> >>
>> >> 4. A competent enough city manager and staff to successfully implement
>> >> the program.
>> >>
>> >> W.
>> >
>> > _____________________________________________________
>> > List services made available by First Step Internet,
>> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>> > http://www.fsr.net
>> > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> > ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
>> >
>> >
>>
>> _____________________________________________________
>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>> http://www.fsr.net
>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
>
>
>
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