[Vision2020] The (New) Troy Reservoir

[Mark Solomon]

I've taken city staff and others on several 
mountain tours over the past year highlighting 
reservoir potential.

Mark

At 9:16 AM -0700 8/11/06, Jerry Weitz wrote:
>Steve's views are correct.  Moscow bantered this 
>idea around in 1938 when a new well was drilled 
>somewhere east of town came up dry and nothing 
>happened.     I think that the time has come to 
>take action and encourage the building of a 
>reservoir.  The question will be how to pay. 
>Any ideas? jerry
>
>
>At 12:10 PM 8/9/06, Steven Basoa wrote:
>
>>Kudos to the Troy founders for their foresight 
>>and to the current Troy officials for their 
>>planning.  The following article (from the 
>>Moscow-Pullman Daily news) details how the town 
>>of Troy may go about dealing with their water 
>>issues.   The potential for building a 
>>reservoir for Moscow has been mentioned (on 
>>v2020) several times.  I do not know if the 
>>city officials are even considering this idea. 
>>Considering the uncertainty of our aquifers, 
>>the time for studying this option is long past 
>>due.  The city wouldn't even have to hire 
>>outside consultants.  We have an excellent 
>>Geological Sciences department at the UI.  One 
>>would think/hope that the city and the 
>>university would be eager to work together on 
>>such a project.  The potential benefits could 
>>be enormous.  It would be sad times for Moscow 
>>should the wells ever run dry.
>>
>>*******
>>
>>TACKLING THE WATER ISSUE
>>
>>Troy community leaders express need for new reservoir
>>
>>By Ryan Bentley, Daily News staff writer
>>Published: 08-07-2006
>>
>>Officials in Troy want to pursue a reservoir 
>>that would provide the town with twice the 
>>amount of water it needs.
>>
>>Troy is in the preliminary stages of building a 
>>250-million to 300-million-gallon reservoir 
>>downstream from its existing 8-million-gallon 
>>reservoir.
>>
>>The town collects about 80 percent of its water 
>>from the surface and only uses its two wells 
>>during the summer months.
>>
>>The area flooded to house the reservoir would 
>>be land the town already owns and property 
>>owned by the University of Idaho.
>>
>>Troy’s founders decided more than 120 years ago 
>>to buy a large portion of the drainage that 
>>supplies the town with its water.
>>
>>Their foresight may provide the town with the 
>>water it needs for years to come.
>>
>>“Right now, Troy is restricted and can’t really 
>>grow because we just don’t have enough water,” 
>>Mayor Ken Whitney Jr. said. “We believe this is 
>>the best option for a sustainable, more 
>>plentiful water supply, but we need the town to 
>>sign off on it.”
>>
>>The new system’s projected cost is 
>>approximately $3.5 million. The city currently 
>>has about $1 million saved from select logging 
>>on its drainage area. Water rates would 
>>increase to between $10 and $15, although 
>>Whitney said all of the cost analyses and data 
>>are rough.
>>
>>The city has been looking at potential 
>>reservoir sites since 1993, Whitney said. The 
>>City Council and forester Cliff Todd will 
>>explain the need for a new reservoir at an Aug. 
>>28 meeting at the Troy Lions Club. The meeting 
>>will begin at 7 p.m.
>>
>>“We need people to be at this meeting,” Whitney 
>>said. “They are the ones that have to decide if 
>>they really want us to pursue this route.”
>>
>>The city could drill more wells for about 
>>$100,000 apiece, Whitney said, but Troy is 
>>located over an aquifer that does not have 
>>enough water to continually supply the town.
>>
>>Todd said studies done on the aquifer show it 
>>is not part of the Grand Ronde Aquifer that 
>>supplies water to Moscow and Pullman. The 
>>aquifer under Troy stops before it reaches 
>>Moscow, he said. Wells drilled into the aquifer 
>>below Troy pull no more than 150 gallons a 
>>minute, while some wells in the Grand Ronde 
>>Aquifer pump more than 2,000 gallons a minute.
>>
>>“At 300 million gallons that would be enough to 
>>supply Troy with enough water for two years if 
>>it had 1,500 people living in it,” Todd said. 
>>“The reservoir makes the most sense because of 
>>the topography, the creek and the amount of 
>>water we can get.”
>>
>>The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed 
>>Troy’s current reservoir in the 1930s. The town 
>>didn’t start using groundwater until the 1970s.
>>
>>Whitney said the existing reservoir was nothing 
>>more than a muddy hole last summer, and the 
>>wells were running dry.
>>
>>“We were hurting,” he said. “If we get a new 
>>reservoir we would have water in reserve for 
>>when we have those dry years and not have to 
>>worry every summer and not have to ration.”
>>
>>Whitney said formulas he has seen allocate 100 
>>million gallons of water a year for 800 people, 
>>which is the population of Troy. With its 
>>current reservoir, the town can only draw 60 
>>million gallons a year.
>>
>>“Several contractors have come to us wanting to 
>>build, but we just don’t have the water,” he 
>>said. “This will be the foundation in Troy’s 
>>growth.”
>>
>>The town already has water rights to the 
>>drainage area, but it needs a permit to move 
>>the holding area down Big Meadow Creek.
>>
>>Latah County gave the city a conditional use 
>>permit for the reservoir. Now, the citizens 
>>must approve the plan and pass the bond that 
>>would pay for the reservoir. The city must hire 
>>an engineer to plan the dam, and the Idaho 
>>Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Fish 
>>and Wildlife Service have to approve the plan.
>>
>>Todd said one of the contingencies the city 
>>faces is making accommodations for salmon, 
>>steelhead and wetlands. Todd said those 
>>shouldn’t be a problem if the city dumps water 
>>into the creek during the summer to accommodate 
>>salmon and steelhead and creates new wetlands 
>>to compensate for the creek.
>>
>>Besides providing for fish, Todd said IDWR 
>>wants Troy to dump extra water into the creek 
>>during the summer to accommodate the city of 
>>Juliaetta’s needs. Todd said water for fish and 
>>people downstream would be possible. Even if 
>>Troy’s population doubled, planners still 
>>project an extra 150 million gallons.
>>
>>Todd does not foresee running a line to Moscow 
>>if the Grand Ronde Aquifer dries up, but 
>>pumping water to accommodate for people 
>>downstream is realistic.
>>
>>“This is the most important issue for Troy,” 
>>Whitney said. “We are trying to look far into 
>>the future so our kids and grandkids can have 
>>enough water.”
>>
>>IF YOU GO
>>
>>* WHAT: Town meeting to hear from the public on 
>>whether the city should pursue a reservoir.
>>
>>* WHEN: Troy Lions Club
>>
>>* WHERE: Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
>>
>>Ryan Bentley can be reached at (208) 882-5561, 
>>ext. 237, or by e-mail at 
>><mailto:rbentley at dnews.com>rbentley at dnews.com.
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