[Vision2020] Is Moscow Ready for Reservoir?

[Donovan Arnold]

Joe,
  
 I can tell you this. Although I think it is always a  good idea to have a plan B and even a plan C and possibly a plan D, I  am not willing as a taxpayer to pay for a reservoir. I think it is just  another big expensive government project that people cannot afford. I  mean good grief, it costs $1000 to rent a 3 bedroom apartment in  Moscow, people cannot afford it anymore. In Boise mortgages are only  like $700 for a three or four bedroom house.  Jobs in Moscow pay  less than 30K a year, our county population is shrinking and native  Moscow residents are being replaced by Californians and others not from  here because of the cost of living and lack of job opportunities. 
  
  If you want a reservoir, you have to pay for it through private means,  not taxes, which means you have to get a private company like Naylor  Farms to do it. If they can engineer a mining operation, they can  engineer digging a hole and filling it with water. 
  
 I don't  think that conservation is the solution to our problem. I think water  levels are not decreasing because of our consumption rate, but rather  because of a shift in global weather patterns. Even if Moscow residents  left town all today, the water would still run out.  Just look at  all the other aquifers around the world that are also declining. 
  
  Second, I don't want to leave behind this aquifer water for people. I  think it is nasty, smelly, bad tasting water. We have fresh water  springs less than 50 miles from here, don't you think people of the  future, 200-300 years from now would rather be drinking that than the  stale water that corrodes our pipes and smells like sulfur if your  water tank isn't over 130 degrees? I know I would. 
  
 If we  took two years to build one mile of pipe, we would get to a fresh  healthy water supply in less than 100 years, a good 200 years before  our supply ran out.
  
 I think speculation and research is a  good thing, and so is coming up with a plan B for our water situation.  However, asking for money for a water reservoir with the limited  knowledge we have is going to get a big NO from Moscow property owners  which make up most the vote. 
  
 Thinking realistically, you  aren't going to get a reservoir anytime in the near future with tax  dollars. Naylor Farms is more most likely our best shot.   
  
  I suppose lots of people, and MCA are going to spend lots of time  pushing this idea, some will use scare tactics, but it in the end, it  isn't going to happen. 
  
  Best,
  
  _DJA
  

Joe Campbell <joekc at adelphia.net> wrote:  Dear Donovan,

Let  me preface this by saying that I know very little about water; I know  more since last night -- thanks to our wonderful panel! -- but that is  still very little compared to other folks. Here are some brief  thoughts, though.

1/ The kind of area needed for a reservoir is  one thing; the kind of area needed for a mine is another. Why think  that they would coincide? Others can speak to this issue with more  authority, but I remain skeptical that a mine can be easily transformed  into a reservoir.

2/ What I especially liked about last night's  meeting is that we discussed an issue that was not "in our face." Yet  it is an issue that needs to be dealt with soon. The fact is that we  use more water than is being replaced. As long as the water supply is  not endless, it will eventually end. What to do?

A reservoir is  one possible solution. Water conservation is another one. But CAN we  conserve enough water to solve the problem? Shouldn't we also look at  other solutions? We're just beginning this dialogue, I think. (We're  just beginning it as a COMMUNITY. It was clear last night that there  are quite a few folks who have been thinking about these issues for a  while.)

3/ One thing that came across last night is that we are  in a rather unique situation, water-wise. It is possible that there is  a large -- though limited -- body of water that is currently available  to Moscow. We need to think about how we are going to use it and --  until we can provide a way of increasing that amount -- we should plan  to use it wisely.

Naylor farms has plans to use a great deal of  our current supply. Forgetting about the other costs of their  enterprise, it is questionable whether -- short of some long term  solution to our current water problem -- we should invest our water  capital to meet their ends.

4/ I wish Naylor farms would hold a  public forum similar to the one held last night. Which is just to say,  I wish that Naylor farms would give me the feeling that they gave a  rat's -ss about how I and others think about these issues.

I  challenge Naylor farms to approach this problem in a way that  illustrates their concern for the overall community. It is our water  and the supply is limited. If Naylor farms wants to use some of that  supply, then they need to tell us how we might benefit from their use.  So far I have not seen the benefit. Nor have I seen any recognition on  their part that there is a genuine problem here. Currently, there is  just a limited supply of water. We might debate on the amount but that  the supply is limited is not an issue for debate.

Until we can  figure out a way to increase our current supply of water -- through a  reservoir, conservation, or some other means -- it seems irresponsible  to allow Naylor farms access to it for their own personal needs.

Note  that these comments are reflective of my own thoughts, and not those of  any other organization with which I might be affiliated (the members of  which likely know more about these issues than I do).

Best, Joe

---- Donovan Arnold  wrote: 

=============
Joe and Bruce,
  
  I would love to attend your meeting, however, I cannot. You guys really  need to check with me before you schedule these meetings to make sure I  am free, cause you know, I work and go to school and right now I am  also sick. ; )
  
 But my advice is that you work with Naylor  Farms to meet both your goals. Maybe the money raised from mining can  be used to pay for the reservoir. Working with people you have  disagreements with rather than shutting them down all the time might  work better to meet some of your long term goals. 
  
 Is there  any reason why the water used by Naylor Farms cannot be used to fill  the reservoir? Is there any reason why the hole they dig cannot be the  reservoir? Is there any reason why the taxes and fines they pay the  county to mine cannot be used to pay for the project? I think a  reservoir on top of a hill just a mile or town out of town is a perfect  place to have one. 
  
  Those are the questions I would ask if I could attend this meeting. 
  
  Best,
  
  _DJA
  

Joe Campbell   wrote:Come to the meeting, Donovan! Note that the title of the meeting  is a question, not a statement. We're going to discuss the plusses and  minuses and try to help folks reach an informed decision on the matter.

--
Joe Campbell

---- Donovan Arnold  wrote: 

=============
Won't  digging a reservoir cause health problems with dust being less then 1.5  miles away from Moscow? And won't it use a lot of water?
  
  Why don't we just have Naylor Farms dig us a hole, take the clay and dirt away, and use the water to fill the reservoir?
  
Curious minds want to know. 
  
  Best,
  
  _DJA

Bruce  and Jean Livingston wrote: Reminder: MCA meeting on whether Moscow  should consider building a water reservoir.
   
  MCA General Public Meeting on Monday Oct. 9 at 1912   Building @ 7p.m.
  Water   Solutions – Is Moscow   Ready for a Reservoir?
  Panelists:  
  Jerry Fairley, Professor of Hydrogeology, U of Idaho
  Dianne French, founder of Palouse Water Conservation   Network
  Gary Riedner, Moscow City Supervisor
  Steve Robischon, Exec. Mgr. of Palouse Basin Aquifer   Committee
  Mark Solomon, Palouse Water Conservation Network
   
   
   
   
   
=======================================================
 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
=======================================================

   
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.

=======================================================
 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
=======================================================

   
---------------------------------
How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low  PC-to-Phone call rates.

=======================================================
 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
=======================================================

 		
---------------------------------
 All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20061010/5b5bfb4f/attachment.htm