Palouse Water Conservation Network

Developers return to Pullman corridor site

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:47:00 GMT

By Kelli Hadley, Moscow Pullman Daily News staff writer

After more than a three-year hiatus, the Hawkins Companies has returned to its proposed Pullman-Moscow corridor development, requesting an additional $5.9 million reimbursement from Whitman County so the company can finish what it started.

In 2008, the Hawkins Companies fought against Moscow for water rights, drilled several test wells at the 700,000 square foot site, invested about $10 million into the project and was about two weeks away from signing with contractors.

But the economic downturn kept the company from following through.

One of the company's concerns with waiting any longer to build is that Moscow is now taking steps to attract businesses into the community, Jeffrey DeVoe, representative for the Hawkins Companies, said.

The University of Idaho recently purchased a strip of land that will eventually be used to connect West A Street to Warbonnet Drive, and DeVoe said the notion is to connect UI's property after rezoning so it is more accessible for retailers.

"If this project doesn't happen in Whitman County, there is a great chance it will happen in Moscow or Latah County," DeVoe said. "You need to decide if you think that's going to happen or not."

After the presentation, commissioners appointed Administrative Coordinator Gary Petrovich to be the county lead on the project, and set a deadline of no later than Jan. 9, 2012, to make a decision about whether to participate in the Hawkins development.

In the previous agreement with Whitman County, Hawkins had to prove sufficient water rights, provide a Lowe's or other suitable big box store, dedicate public infrastructure to the county and comply with public bidding statutes.

The county would reimburse Hawkins the $9.1 million it would cost to install public infrastructure on that land.

The revised agreement contains the same conditions, except Hawkins is requesting $15 million to build public water, sewer and streets. It would provide two big box stores in the development instead of just one.

The money to be reimbursed by the county will go directly toward construction of the county-owned public infrastructure, DeVoe said, not to the Hawkins Companies itself.

"We know that $15 million is a big number, but recognize that's still private development picking up a substantial portion of the public infrastructure costs to develop the corridor," DeVoe said.

Hawkins has not signed any tenants, but DeVoe said there are two big box tenants who want to be involved. One of them, however, is getting tired of waiting to see what will happen with the project.

"It's rare for our tenants to push like ours have and then back out," DeVoe said. "Once we've got big boxes signed up, we will be able to market to other tenants."

Additionally, DeVoe said, now is a good time to push forward because January and February are typically slow months for big box tenants.

"Because it's super slow, when we go into the next month or two, we'll be able to get a less crowded landscape," DeVoe said. "In May, the competitive sites in Moscow will be presented to the same tenants."

If the county agrees to paying the $15 million reimbursement, DeVoe said the project could generate $11 million over 20 years, or about $500,000 annually from sales tax revenue. He said the company has looked into creating a smaller development, something like 300,000 square feet instead of 700,000, but the savings "wouldn't be enough to make it a viable alternative."

DeVoe said one possible source for additional assistance is Washington's Local Infrastructure Financing Tool program, which could award $200,000 annually to the county to help pay back the bonds the county would use to finance the reimbursement. Commissioner Greg Partch also noted the Community Economic Revitalization Board and Port of Whitman County as possible sources for assistance.

For information on the Hawkins Companies, go to hcollc.com.

Kelli Hadley can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by email to khadley@dnews.com.

Lawsuit moves to appeals

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:16:00 GMT

By Christine Rushton
The Daily Evergreen

A lawsuit challenging the consolidation of WSU's water rights has moved to the Court of Appeals for Eastern Washington.

“WSU has on paper about 5,000 acre-feet of water (from the Grande Ronde Aquifer) that they never use more than 2,000 acre-feet of and are actually using less now,” said Rachael P. Osborn, the attorney representing the plaintiff-appellants. “Under the ‘use it or lose it’ principle of Western Water Law, those water rights that they never use should be relinquished.”

The aquifer is a chemical-free water source declining at an average 1.5 feet per year, said Pullman resident Scott Cornelius, who is a case plaintiff-appellant. He said he wants to bring WSU and the community's attention to this issue.

The other two plaintiff-appellants in the case are the Palouse Water Conservation Network and the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club.

Frank Hruban, an assistant attorney general for WSU, said the changes to WSU’s water rights do not alter how much water they use. He said WSU is concerned about the declining aquifer.

“The purpose for WSU consolidating its water rights was to ensure that WSU could meet the needs of the campus through an efficient water pumping and distribution system,” Hruban said.

WSU has the same water requirements as before the new configuration, Hruban said. WSU has even successfully conserved water.

The Department of Ecology (DOE) ruled that the consolidation of WSU's seven water rights helps WSU pump water efficiently but does not alter the annual amount allocated to them from the aquifer, Hruban said.

In 2006, the plaintiff-appellants appealed the DOE decision to the Pollution Controls Hearing Board (PCHB), which ruled in 2008 in favor of the DOE’s decision. The plaintiff-appellants then appealed again, this time to the Whitman County Superior Court, and Judge David Frazier ruled to uphold the decision of the PCHB.

Frazier said in his decision on the petition for review that Cornelius did not establish the invalidity of DOE’s and PCHB’s actions. He said the decision to approve WSU’s groundwater right change for consolidation is lawful and correct.

“We believe that WSU has water rights far in excess of what they need and can use, and they should relinquish those water rights,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius said the issue directly affects him and others in the area because the aquifer is the main source of water for the region.

The aquifer is used by Moscow, Pullman, the University of Idaho and WSU. The plaintiff-appellants’ concern is partly triggered by the irrigation needed for the WSU Palouse Ridge Golf Club.

“Our water levels in the groundwater have been declining since 1930, so we are using more water than this aquifer can recharge,” Cornelius said. “The self-indulgence of a land-grant university particularly irks me in this regard when the university should obviously be the leader in the effort to sustain limited resources.”

The DOE has not issued new water rights since 1992 because of the declining aquifer, presenting an issue of outdated policies, Osborn said. Every use of the source, for example the golf course, should be examined to determine whether it is necessary and efficient, she said.

“This is a very serious problem, and it is not a problem that WSU has really taken to heart to address,” Osborn said. “If they increase their water use, which is why they’re clinging to these paper water rights, if they actually doubled or tripled their water use it would be disastrous for the community.”

According to the Washington State Department of Health, WSU’s annual water use efficiency performance report for 2010 showed the university used 101.5 million gallons less than that year’s goal for conservation. The university’s water use dropped to the lowest amount in 50 years.

“WSU has made significant progress to meet and exceed the water conservation goal,” the report states. “WSU strives to incorporate water conservation into aspects of many re-model, construction and maintenance activities throughout the year.”

WSU also actively participates in commission and funding studies of the resource through the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, according to the report.

Both defendants and plaintiff-appellants acknowledge the issue that the amount of existing water in the aquifer is not known. Groups including UI and WSU study the aquifer, but do not know its size.

Cornelius said WSU does not necessarily pump more than others from the aquifer, but pumping for amenities like the expansive irrigation for the golf course is not efficient. He said his goal is to bring the public and WSU’s attention to the major problem of a declining amount of the precious, chemical-free water.

“They are going to irrigate the golf course no matter what, but depending on this decision, it could limit their future use of water,” Cornelius said. “It’s possible that it could set a precedent and limit water in this kind of excessive use statewide.”

Water study leaves options for Moscow Council

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:43:00 GMT

Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff report

Moscow councilors will wade through several options for surface water retention efforts today.

Public Works Director Les MacDonald said a feasibility study to determine whether water could be collected in basins on Moscow Mountain is complete.

The study was commissioned about 22 months ago to identify future water resources for residents who currently use groundwater from the Wanapum and the Grande Ronde aquifer systems. The aquifers are considered to be a limited supply. Pumping there is at 1992 levels, said MacDonald, but show signs of stabilization.

"It does appear that there's some affect on the system," he said. "Groundwater is still our least expensive option for water."

The cost of transferring water from four selected basins depends on how councilors decide they want it used, said MacDonald. Irrigation use is less costly, but a larger basin with a higher yield would require a larger dam. Then there's conveyance of the water and whether water from the basins might be used to recharge the aquifers.

"It's a viable option for us to consider," MacDonald said, adding there are those opposed to recharging the aquifers from the basins.

"Their concern is that there is potential for contamination of the water supply. There are a lot of safety factors that are built into the process. The city of Walla Walla has been doing it for decades."

Flannigan Creek would be the most costly and highest yielding option at 6,600 acre-feet of storage capacity and nearly $54 million to construct, convey and treat. The South Fork Palouse Basin is the lowest at 1,300 acre-feet of storage capacity and nearly $26 million to construct, convey and treat, which drops to about $5 million for irrigation use only.

Late winter and spring are good times for the next phase of studies, especially since it will allow for the monitoring of runoff on the mountain. With additional studies, permits and construction, depending on how the Council decides, MacDonald said it could take a decade to fully implement.

WSU golf course water challenge tees up for Appeals Court

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:57:00 GMT

Center for Environmental Law and Policy press release

PULLMAN, Washington -- Conservationists have moved their legal challenge to Washington State University's water rights to the Appeals Court for Eastern Washington.

The latest appeal comes after a Nov. 3 ruling by Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier. Without elaboration, Frazier upheld the decision of the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The Board, which hears challenges of Department of Ecology water rights decisions, ruled in 2008 that Ecology properly allowed WSU to consolidate its wells. That consolidation allowed WSU to expand its golf course despite groundwater levels that are dropping by nearly 1.5 feet each year.

Ecology and the university are both defendants in the appeal.

The case was initiated by Scott Cornelius, a Pullman property owner with a private well. He contends that WSU's use of water for golf greens contributes to the decline of the Grande Ronde Aquifer upon which he and the cities of Moscow and Pullman depend.

Cornelius contends that WSU's legal claim to far more groundwater than it has ever used puts the community at risk of running out of water.

"If we win this case, WSU will lose its legal right to huge amounts of water that may not even exist," said Cornelius. "The university will have much more incentive to conserve and won't be tempted to sell any of its water rights-something easy to imagine at times like this, when it faces dramatic budget cuts."

Spokane attorney Rachael Pascal Osborn filed the appeal of Frazier's decision with the state Court of Appeals on Friday. Osborn represents Cornelius and his co-appellants, the Palouse Water Conservation Network and the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club."Our case could set a precedent and is being watched closely by those concerned about public water supplies statewide," said Osborn, attorney for the conservationists, and staff attorney with the Center for Environmental Law & Policy.

Don Coombs of the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club said that, instead of a golf course, WSU should be investing in and inventing sustainable water systems.

"This university sits atop a declining aquifer," said Coombs. "WSU should 'walk the talk' and become a leader in water sustainability not only in Pullman but throughout the nation."

WSU officials hope to use reclaimed water on the golf course, but have never gotten state funding to build a pipeline from the Pullman water treatment plant.

A chronology and more details on the WSU water rights case are available at: www.pwcn.org

Additional Links:

Background

WSU holds 7 water rights, for 7 different wells. All WSU pumping is coming from the Grande Ronde Aquifer (GRA), which serves the cities of Pullman and Moscow, along with WSU and the University of Idaho. The GRA has been declining at the rate of 1.5 feet per year for 70 years. No one knows the extent of the aquifer, how much water is down there, or how long it will last. The unsustainable pumping of the aquifer is a disaster in the making. No real progress has been made toward a solution.

In the mid-2000's, WSU decided to build a "championship" golf course that would dramatically increase water pumping. There were efforts to try to stop the golf course, all failed, and it is now built, operating, and draining the aquifer. Meanwhile, WSU decided to consolidate its water rights in order to improve its ability to pump the aquifer, especially to meet increased pumping required by the golf course. In other words, WSU sought authorization to pump all of its water rights from any well or combination of wells.

To do this, the Department of Ecology (DOE) had to consider the validity of the 7 WSU water rights. As it turns out, quite a few of WSU's water rights are not valid, for various reasons (e.g., WSU failed to use the water and under western water law, "use it or lose it"). WSU holds about 5,000 acre-feet of water but never has used more than 2,000 acre-feet (measured on an annual basis). Pursuant to state law, that unused 3,000 acre feet should be relinquished, but instead, DOE affirmed WSU's legal ability to pump all of its water - without any regard to the adverse effects of increased pumping on the local aquifer.

In 2006 Scotty Cornelius, Palouse Water Conservation Network, and Sierra Club Palouse Group appealed DOE's water right consolidation decisions to the state's administrative court (the Pollution Control Hearings Board or PCHB). In January 2008, a trial was held before PCHB. The PHCB ruled in favor of WSU and DOE. Conservationists appealed the decision to Whitman County Superior Court, which acts as the first level of court of appeal for administrative decisions. Then, the case was put on hold pending the outcome of a legal challenge by Tribes and conservationists to the Municipal Water Law. After the State Supreme Court decided that case (specifically referencing the WSU case), the WSU golf course case came back to life.

In June 2011 Whitman County Superior Court held a hearing on the WSU case. In late October, the court issued a short decision affirming the PCHB decision, but not providing an explanation for the decision.

The next level of appeal is to the Division 3 of the Court of Appeals in eastern Washington. This court is experienced with water right litigation. In a nutshell, the issues are:

Whether, when Ecology consolidated WSU's water rights, it should have eliminated those portions that had not been used for decades (use it or lose it doctrine).

Whether, Ecology's consolidation violated the Municipal Water Law, subject of the Lummi Nation decision. The WSU golf course case involves the first "as applied" challenge to this 2003 law.

Whether, Ecology should have made a determination about how to sustainably manage the Palouse Aquifer (the most important issue in the case).

Unfortunately, for the communities that depend on this water, the fact is: they will eventually lose their water source. Of interest is that WSU (which has a whole "natural resource sustainability" program) and the State of Washington have devoted hundreds of thousand of dollars fighting this citizen's legal challenge to sustainably manage this aquifer.

Public asked to comment on Palouse Producers cleanup

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:15:00 GMT

SPOKANE – The public is invited to comment on plans to clean up the former Palouse Producers site to clear the way for a major redevelopment project in the city of Palouse.

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) will accept comments from Nov. 17 to Dec. 19, 2011, on three draft documents related to the proposed cleanup:

A Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree, a legal document that formalizes the agreement between Ecology and the prospective purchaser for cleanup at a site. Generally, Ecology identified a potentially liable person (PLP) as the responsible party to pay to clean up a site. But the Palouse Producers site is in bankruptcy and no PLPs exist. Palouse city officials intend to acquire the site out of bankruptcy. The city, as the prospective purchaser, would not be considered a PLP.
A Draft Cleanup Action Plan, which evaluates and identifies the cleanup alternative Ecology selected from those the city proposed.
The State Environmental Policy Act requires government agencies to consider a cleanup’s potential environmental impacts before work starts. Ecology determined this cleanup will benefit the environment and issued a Determination of Non-Significance (DNS).

Ecology staff invites the public to discuss proposed cleanup plans at a meeting on Dec. 1, 2011. The meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Garfield-Palouse High-Gym at 600 E. Alder St., Palouse. City officials also will share ideas for redeveloping the site.

The Palouse Producers site is located at 335 E. Main, between Bagott Motors and the future Health Center. The site’s southern portion is along the bank of the Palouse River.

The site served the local agricultural industry by housing a service station, a blacksmith and a welding shop. The service station began operating in 1955. Above-ground and underground storage tanks were installed at the site.

Palouse Producers, which began operating in 1977, used the facility to fuel vehicles, and store and distribute bulk fuel until 1985. In 1985, all of the above-ground tanks and three of the underground storage tanks were removed. The final storage tank was removed in 1992.

Beginning in 1984 and continuing through 1985, several efforts were made to clean up petroleum that was entering the Palouse River. Later studies of the property, conducted by Ecology and the city, identified residual contamination in soil and groundwater on the property.

The city of Palouse proposes to clean up petroleum products and metals such as lead, arsenic and manganese at the site. After cleanup is done, the city wants to redevelop the site to provide economic benefits for the community.

Ecology’s brownfields program provided an integrated planning grant to the city to explore cleanup and redevelopment options.

The city proposed six cleanup alternatives for Ecology to evaluate. Ecology chose an alternative that includes:

Installing three groundwater monitoring wells.
Restricting the use of groundwater on the property.
Removing contaminated soils.
Establishing a management plan to guide future uses of remaining soil.
Allowing groundwater to naturally correct itself over time.

Here’s how to view copies of the documents:

Whitman County Library, 120 E. Main St., Palouse. Call 509-878-1513.
By appointment at Ecology’s Eastern Regional Office, 4601 N. Monroe, Spokane. Contact Kari Johnson at 509-329-3415.
Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program web page for the Palouse Producers site.
City of Palouse project web page.

Here’s how you can submit comments:

Mail them to Sandra Treccani, site manager, Washington Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, 4601 N. Monroe, Spokane, WA 99205.
E-mail them to sandra.treccani@ecy.wa.gov.

Ecology will review and consider all received comments. The documents may be revised based on the comments. If no changes are made to the documents, cleanup will begin in the summer of 2012. The work is expected to take two months to complete.

###

Whose water is this?

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:40:00 GMT

By William L. Spence of the Lewiston Morning Tribune

Major water users in the Palouse Basin are conducting well tests this week to try and clarify which areas tap into the deep Grand Ronde aquifer.

The Grand Ronde is the main aquifer in the region, providing most or all of the drinking water for Moscow, Pullman, the University of Idaho, Washington State University and other local municipalities.

The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, which includes representatives from all of the main water users, has been monitoring the aquifer for years, trying to determine its structure and boundaries and measure how fast it's being depleted.

Recent studies suggest the aquifer may be divided into multiple compartments, but the geographic boundaries of the compartments are still unclear, as is the extent to which they're connected to one another.

"The greatest uncertainty is to the north and northwest," said Steve Robischon, executive manager of PBAC. Does Garfield, for example, get its water from the same aquifer as Palouse, and does Palouse tap into the same aquifer as Pullman?

To help answer these questions, PBAC members agreed to participate in a regional well test this week. They shut down their wells entirely Monday evening, to give water levels a chance to stabilize. Each water user then turned its pumps back on at specific times. The intent was to try and measure whether pumping in Garfield could be detected in wells in Palouse, or if pumping in Pullman could be detected in Palouse.

"If it can, it means they're in the same basin," Robischon said.

This is the third time PBAC members have participated in these Thanksgiving week well tests, he said. What makes the work so difficult is that even if the areas are connected, water levels in the wells may only change by one-one hundredth to one-four hundredth of a foot.

That's down near the detection limit of the equipment, Robischon said, "but with each test they get a little better at interpreting the data."

The test results will be analyzed by UI graduate student Attila Folnagy, he said. Preliminary results may be available early next year, with final results included in Folnagy's graduate thesis next spring.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.

Court Okays WSU Water Ruling

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:57:00 GMT

Whitman County Gazette

Judge David Frazier ruled Nov. 2 a 2004 move by WSU to consolidate its water rights fell within the law. The court ruling backed a decision by the state's Pollution Control Hearing Board.

The court challenge on the WSU water rights consolidation was filed by Scott Cornelius of Pullman, Palouse Water Conservation Network and Sierra Club Palouse Group. They appealed the decision made by the state's Pollution Control Hearing Board which heard the first round of the dispute against a decision by the state's Department of Ecology.

In 2004 WSU moved to consolidate its ground water right for seven wells by asking the DOE to authorize a draw of any quantity from any well as long as the total remained under the total of the rights assigned to the individual wells. In 2006 the DOE approved the change as it applied to six of WSU's wells.

A decision on the court challenge was delayed until a state supreme court ruling was issued on a case involving interpretation of the state's Municipal Water Law. After applying the state's high court ruling to the WSU challenge, Judge Frazier said the appellants in the WSU challenge failed to prove application of the Municipal Water Law violated provisions in the constitution.

Golf course avoids a water hazard

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:09:00 GMT

By Katie Roenigk
Moscow Pullman Daily News

There has been some negative attention directed toward Washington State University's Palouse Ridge Golf Club since the facility opened in 2008, with criticism centering around water use at the course. But Superintendent Todd Lupkes said he and his staff are committed to conserving as much water as possible while caring for the 350-acre course - only 100 acres of which are irrigated in the summer.

Lupkes said the number of regularly watered acres has fallen since 2008, with employees letting the grass go in areas that do not see as much use.

"If we've never seen someone hit (in a particular spot), we turn off the water," Lupkes said. "If a golf ball isn't going to fall into it, why maintain it?"

He used hole No. 17 as an example, pointing to areas on either side of the fairway that are brown and overgrown. The property's driving range looks similar, Lupkes said, with water only applied to areas that get the most use. Instead of 3.4 million gallons of water per year, now the driving range only requires about 100,000 gallons.

That change was part of a student project, Lupkes said. He works with 12-15 turf management students each year, many of whom use Palouse Ridge as a training grounds for a future career.

"We're here to teach them to run the course as efficiently as possible," Lupkes said. "We're teaching the golf industry how to be better consumers of water. ... I came to work here to create this kind of a product."

The efforts began with the installation of the club's irrigation system. The property's 2,000 sprinklers are hooked up to a computer that controls each nozzle's output based on daily weather and water conditions.

Using that technology, Lupkes has managed to use less water at Palouse Ridge every year in operation. While grass was being installed, he said 68 million gallons were utilized on the course. But in 2009 the number was down to 51 million gallons, with 37 million gallons used in 2010.

"Efficiency and conservation-wise we keep getting better and better," Lupkes said.

In fact, he said, WSU's water consumption has gone down despite the addition of the 18-hole golf course. In 2004 the university used 558 million gallons of water, but in 2010 - two years after Palouse Ridge was built - WSU used only 459 million gallons.

Of course, some could argue that even more water would be saved without the golf course, but Lupke said the club provides an economic engine in Pullman that did not exist before. Twenty thousand people played the award-winning course this year, including daily visits by at least 150 local public school students. Twenty weddings were held on the property in 2011, Lupkes said, and countless lunches were served to patrons, many of whom came from out of town. In addition, he said more than 60 people work at the club full time.

"It's been a good stimulus for the community," he said. "There's a lot of money that pours through the door here. As long as we continue to use the water we're using as best as we possibly can, this will be an entity that lasts for hundreds of years."

Responding to the critics, Lupkes said some people are of the opinion that water should not be used for anything that is not necessary for survival. Others, however, feel that recreational opportunities like swimming and golf are important to promote.

"People can have their opinions about what is a justified use of water," Lupkes said. "There are those of us who think this is a good use of water as long as we maintain the resource as conservation-minded as we possibly can."

Palouse Ridge could be maintained using reclaimed or "grey" water that has gone through a sewage treatment plant, but state legislators have not approved requests from WSU for funding to build a reclaimed water facility. Regardless, Lupkes said he is ready to move to a "grey water" system whenever he can - and he hopes the time will come soon.

"That's not just a golf course issue," Lupkes said. "We're one entity of 100 who could use that water."

Katie Roenigk can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by email to kroenigk@dnews.com.

Prairie water group decides to wait

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:23:00 GMT

By William L. Spence of the Lewiston MorningTribune |

PULLMAN - Major water users in the Palouse Basin say they're committed to stabilizing water levels in the regional aquifer system, even though they just gave themselves more time to achieve that goal.

The users are all members of the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee.

The organization dates back to the 1960s. At the time, the shallow Wanapum aquifer was being pumped dry, water levels in the deep Grand Ronde aquifer were dropping more than a foot per year and Moscow and Pullman were both experiencing water shortages.

The committee was formed to study the aquifers and provide recommendations for achieving a long-term supply. Its members now include Moscow, Pullman, Colfax, the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and Latah and Whitman counties. They say their determination to address the situation is undiminished.

Nevertheless, during a recent goal-setting session they pushed back the date for completing a "water supply and use program" for the basin by five years. The program would basically describe what needs to be done to ensure demand doesn't exceed supply; the new deadline is now 2025.

The committee also declined to even consider reducing the existing ceiling on water use, which caps annual pumping from the Grand Ronde aquifer at 3.1 billion gallons.

Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman said pushing back the date on the water supply and use program is simply an acknowledgement of how difficult it will be to develop such a program.

For example, things PBAC has no control over - such as changing regulatory requirements or funding limitations - could easily add years to the timeline, he said. And even after decades of study, researchers still don't fully understand basic parameters of the aquifer system, such as how large they are, how much water they hold and how much annual recharge takes place. Filling in those blank spots will take time.

The new deadline "is a recognition of the unexpected things that get thrown in front of you," Workman said. "It's an effort to set a more realistic deadline. But don't think anyone is saying we can relax now. We're all going to continue working on this issue with the same urgency. We aren't pulling any feet from the fire."

PBAC members have made considerable strides in reducing water use over the last 20 years. The four major users - UI, WSU, Moscow and Pullman - pumped less water last year than at any point since 1992, and WSU alone uses less water now than it did 50 years ago, despite the increase in student population. As a result, the rate of decline in the Grand Ronde has slowed.

Even with such performance, however, Julie Titone thinks PBAC could be more proactive.

Titone, chairwoman of PBAC's citizen advisory group, said she heard "a lot of back-patting" at the goal-setting meeting, but didn't see the group pushing itself to do better. The entities declined to reduce the 3.1 billion gallon ceiling on water use - even though current usage is only about 2.25 billion - and continued to emphasize research rather than public education.

"I'd like to see PBAC build on its successes, not rest on its laurels," Titone said. "I think it's in a position to take the Palouse Basin to the next phase as far as making real progress on water use. There are some really successful conservation programs out there, communities that have made conservation part of their DNA, but we don't have that here. Every year we have less water than we did the year before. I think we can use that as a gauge to determine if we have a sustainable supply or not."

The citizen advisory group has recommended PBAC do more to encourage water conservation - including funding a public education campaign - but it has been reluctant to take on that role.

Workman and others say the region can't achieve long-term sustainability through conservation alone. At some point, some form of augmentation will need to be pursued, such as surface reservoirs or artificial recharge by injecting excess spring runoff into the aquifer. In the meantime, PBAC has focused on learning as much about the aquifer system as it can, to help inform whatever decisions need to be made.

"No one is looking at that (3.1 billion gallon) number and thinking as long as we're under that, we're good," Workman said. "No one has that mind-set. We're all focused on the problem and trying to address it on both fronts - conservation and augmentation. We take this very seriously and we're all doing what we can. The goal really is having a long-term, quality water supply for the basin."

Spence covers politics for the Tribune. He may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.

Opinion: Water summit reminds us there's still a long way to go

palousewater@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:59:00 GMT

Moscow-Pullman Daily News editorial

The Palouse Basin Water Summit held last week in Pullman had a clear message: The region must find a more sustainable way to provide water for its growing population.

We've come a long way from the days when we carelessly pumped water as if it were an infinite resource, but improvements must be made if we are to continue to sustain the life we have here on the Palouse.

During the conference Steve Robischon, Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee executive manager, presented data indicating the area pumped 18 percent less ground water than it did in 1992, when the committee first enacted its ground water management plan.

That's great progress - it shows the committee and the summit are helping to enact positive changes - but his numbers also point to still declining supplies in the upper and lower aquifers, our primary sources of water. Simply put, pumping numbers are down, but there's a long way to go before use and recharge are even.

At the meeting, officials also discussed the Moscow Surface Water Reservoir Study that targeted four basins on Moscow Mountain, which would allow the region to make use of our abundant snow melt and precipitation. Project costs range from $5 million to $68 million.

While a reservoir will come with a hefty price tag, water will clearly become a larger and larger problem as the region continues to grow, and such expenses may become necessary and no longer optional at some point.

We on the editorial board certainly don't have the solution to this complex issue, nor can we understand all the complexities of water conservation. We suspect most living in Moscow, Pullman and throughout the Palouse are in line with us.

That's why organizations like PBAC and conferences such as the Palouse Basin Water Summit play such vital roles. They bring together the experts and other pertinent parties and keep these issues at the forefront while searching for solutions.

- Devin Rokyta, for the editorial board

Pullman summit takes charge of water resources

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:41:00 GMT

By Brandon Macz
Staff writer, Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Conservation is wonderful, but the Palouse - everywhere, really - will need to find a more sustainable way to provide water to its growing population in the future.

That was part of the message at the 2011 Palouse Basin Water Summit in Pullman Tuesday. The summit acts as a platform to update local officials and residents about groundwater use through the Palouse Ground Water Basin. They discussed water management practices, future sustainability of the aquifer and where new water sources might be found in the future.

Steve Robischon, executive manager for the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, presented participants Tuesday with results of the 2010 water use report for the Palouse Ground Water Basin, which indicates 18 percent less water was pumped than in 1992 when the committee first enacted its groundwater management plan. But supplies in the upper and lower aquifers are still declining - just more slowly than feared.

To determine whether any "young" water had entered the aquifers, testing was conducted in October for tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that only recently entered the Earth's atmosphere, Robischon said. Almost all of the upper aquifers showed signs of tritium while only a few lower aquifers had any.

Groundwater in the basin is pumped from the Wanapum aquifer system, which is shallower, and the Grande Ronde aquifer system, which is deeper. The five major water users are Moscow, Pullman, Colfax, Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

Speakers talked about current and future collaborative efforts that are crucial in the sharing of water resources between Washington and Idaho state entities. The Grande Ronde provides a majority of municipal drinking water and produces higher quality water than the Wanapum, which accounted for 30 percent of Moscow's supply in 2010.

Neither aquifer system has shown a very high recharge, however, leading officials to consider new conservation and environmental methods for water management, and looking at other ways to refill the basin.

Susan Firor, an engineer with TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering, spoke about her work on the Moscow Surface Water Reservoir Study, which has targeted four basins on Moscow Mountain to potentially shift the city's water supply from groundwater to surface water.

The South Fork Palouse, Flannigan Creek, Hatter Creek and Felton Creek were analyzed by TerraGraphics to determine how much snow melt and precipitation running down the mountain could be captured and the associated costs to get it to the city. A number of methods will be discussed during an early December workshop with city councilors, Firor said. Costs range from $5 million to $68 million.

"This is much, much more expensive than developing groundwater," she said, adding councilors will also be able to decide whether they want to keep the project on a local scale or switch to a regional model.

Robin Nimmer, also for TerraGraphics, discussed her work on the Palouse Basin Framework Study. She has collected historical data related to groundwater to find areas that require more study. Such areas include potential monitoring wells west of Pullman, the interaction of surface water and groundwater northwest of Pullman and water quality issues in the upper aquifers.

Many challenges face any entity attempting water management programs, said Maia Bellon, water resources manager for the Washington Department of Ecology. Low water supplies hinder economic growth, she said, while government funding remains insufficient and officials try to work within an outdated legal system established without future population growth in mind.

Bellon said the DOE fought the Legislature in May for a 50-percent cost recovery model for application processing and is looking to reform its water programs, including how it handles water rights. There are currently 7,000 water rights applications pending, she said, and the DOE must decide on 500 requests annually or lose $500,000 from its budget.

She, and all the other speakers Tuesday, said what all water resource programs need is strong public input and communication that can be used to increase efficiency.

"Communication and outreach is key in dealing with water resources," she said

Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by email to bmacz@dnews.com.

Speaker: Water users must cooperate in Palouse Basin

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:23:00 GMT

By William L. Spence of the Lewiston MorningTribune

PULLMAN - The close cooperation between water users in the Palouse Basin illustrates exactly why a national ground water monitoring network is needed, the keynote speaker at the Palouse Water Summit said Tuesday.

Given the increasing demand for water, David Wunsch, director of science and technology for the National Ground Water Association, said there needs to be greater transparency across political boundaries and greater consistency in monitoring methods to help track what's going on with the nation's ground water supplies.

You must be logged in with the proper services to print this article.

"You guys embody that," he told a group of about 150 people at the SEL Event Center. "Having wells that everyone can look at and get an idea of what's going on - a lot of areas in the country don't have that."

Major water users in the Palouse Basin have been working together for years, funding studies of the local aquifer system, monitoring water levels and tracking water use. They've been able to do things that can't be done elsewhere, such as basinwide interference tests that measure how multiple wells respond to pumping in various locations.

After several presentations dealing with the local and state situation, Wunsch offered his perspective on some of the water-related issues that are gaining attention nationally.

One of the more controversial topics is hydraulic fracturing - the practice of injecting liquids into natural gas wells at high pressure to break the rock matrix and increase the flow of gas.

Wunsch said Congress proposed regulations dealing with the practice, but the legislation was too all-encompassing. It didn't distinguish between hydraulic fracturing and "hydrofracking," in which high-pressure water is used to clean away debris to increase flows in water wells.

In some states, he said, hydrofracking has been used on at least 11 percent of water wells. The procedure uses much less water than hydraulic fracturing, and much lower pressures.

"You aren't physically cracking the rock," Wunsch said. "It's essentially a high-pressure wash to clean out (existing) fractures and clays to enhance production."

Efforts to develop a national groundwater monitoring network was another topic he touched upon.

Many states already have their own statewide network, Wunsch said, but they may use different formats to record their data and measure different things when testing water chemistry. The idea behind a national network is to try to bring consistency to work that's already being done.

"This isn't an effort to create a new federal bureaucracy," he said. "It's a way for states to collect data in the same way."

Public officials and interested citizens from across Latah and Whitman counties attended the water summit. The annual event, now in its seventh year, gives people an opportunity to discuss the status of the Palouse Basin aquifer system and learn the latest research findings.

Information from the summit will be posted on the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee's website: www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac/. The site also contains annual and historical information about water use in the region, as well as a variety of research about the aquifer system.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (406) 471-8628.

Palouse Water Summit gets under way Tuesday

palousewater@gmail.com — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:51:00 GMT

By William L. Spence
Lewiston Morning Tribune

Water experts from around the region will gather in Pullman Tuesday for the seventh annual Palouse Basin Water Summit.

The event, which is free and open to the public, gives researchers an opportunity to share their latest findings. It's also a chance for everyone who's interested in water use in the basin to gather together and discuss the situation.

This year's keynote speaker is David Wunsch, director of science and technology for the National Ground Water Association. The meeting runs from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the SEL Event Center, 1825 Schweitzer Drive.

The forum comes at the end of an extraordinarily dry summer and a record-setting wet spring.

Through the first five months of the year, weather sensors at the Moscow-Pullman Regional Airport logged nearly 13 inches of precipitation, or almost 3 inches above average. Since then, less than an inch of rain has fallen - including just a quarter-inch since July 1.

What effect that will have on demand and annual pumping from the Palouse Basin aquifer system remains to be seen. The basin includes the shallow Wanapum aquifer, as well as the deep Grand Ronde aquifer, which is the source of most of Moscow's drinking water and all the drinking water for the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the cities of Pullman, Palouse and Colfax.

Last year, those six entities pumped more than 2.5 billion gallons from the Grand Ronde.

Water levels in the aquifer have been declining steadily for decades. Research sponsored by the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee - which gets most of its funding from the major water users - is helping identify the nature of the aquifer system, including how much annual recharge takes place, where the recharge areas are located, and whether the shallow and deep aquifers are connected.

"There have been a lot of theories over the years. I think we're slowly zeroing in on the theories that make sense, and identifying those areas where we still don't know what makes sense," said Steve Robischon, executive manager of the committee. "But it's such a complex system, we may never reach the end of that row."

Since last year's summit, he said, researchers have made progress in several areas. For example, monitoring how pumping in one well affects water levels in other wells helped them identify structures or compartments within the deep aquifer. But they've also determined that the structures are connected, rather than forming a series of isolated aquifers.

By studying tritium levels and other isotopes, researchers have also determined that some surface water is reaching the deep aquifer. It's still unclear exactly how much recharge is taking place, but some estimates put it as high as 1.6 billion to 1.9 billion gallons per year.

One other notable accomplishment over the past year, Robischon said, was the completion of a surface storage study in Moscow, which looked at the feasibility of building a surface reservoir to capture runoff from Moscow Mountain and use that to augment water from the underground aquifers.

That's just one of the items that will be discussed during Tuesday's summit. The full agenda can be found at www.palousewatersummit.org.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (406) 471-8628.

Pre-Palouse Water Summit advice: Get talking

palousewater@gmail.com — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:08:00 GMT

By Julie Titone
Published in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Our main water supply on the Palouse is dropping one foot a year. Our best experts don’t know how much water is left in the basalt cracks below us, how much time is left before wells start sucking dry.

It’s time we heeded that famous leadership guru, Joan Rivers.

“Can we talk?”

Communication is a powerful and inexpensive tool—sometimes even a free one—that’s woefully underused in the pursuit of a sustainable water supply for greater Pullman and Moscow.

Maybe we don’t talk more about the pending water crisis because so many of us don’t know about it. Maybe we worry that acknowledging limits to the water supply will keep people away from a wonderful place to live. Maybe we don’t criticize anyone else’s water use because we don’t want them looking closely at ours.

Sure, we’re doing some good things. The Grande Ronde Aquifer isn’t dropping quite as fast as before. But we need a lot more talk, and walking the talk, about water conservation and planning.

If you’re a homeowner or landlord, don’t frown at brown. Let grass go dormant in the hot months. Enjoy less mowing. When neighbors raise their eyebrows, ask if they know that a third of our drinking water is used for irrigation and that water rates are going up.

If you own a business on the Palouse, don’t just worry about competition for your customers and housing for your workers. Ponder whether they’ll have enough water to drink. Buttonhole politicians and ask what they’re doing to ensure a water supply.

If you’re on an aquifer committee that’s invested hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars into groundwater research, broaden your vision. Do what leaders around the country are doing. Convince your bosses at the universities and in the city halls to invest in a regional public information campaign, a water conservation office and a speakers’ bureau. You want people to care. Make it so.

If your gym buddy showers until you think his skin will come off or your restaurant server refills your glass with water you don’t want – ask if they know the aquifer is dropping and no one knows how long it will last.

If you don’t think your university should use drinking water on its golf course, don’t just stew. Insist that one controversial decision not become a reason for silence, but rather a reason to launch conservation efforts we can all be proud of. Ask why students and employees don’t learn about the water supply at orientation. Ask what researchers are doing to alleviate worldwide water shortages. How Coug would that be?

A final suggestion: Go to the 7^th annual Palouse Basin Water Summit from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at the SEL Event Center in Pullman. Learn things. Socialize.

Meanwhile, here’s something to think about (though not during a long shower): An archeologist, wearing a Huskies ball cap, poking through what remains of our dried-up Palouse cities.

For more information, visit:
palousewatersummit.org/

www.pwcn.org

www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac/

Julie Titone lives in Pullman. She is chair of the Citizens Advisory Group to the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee and a member of the Palouse Water Conservation Network.

Airway Heights agrees to stop pumping from Parkwest well

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:29:00 GMT

Washington Department of Ecology news release

SPOKANE — The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the city of Airway Heights today signed a legal agreement to shut down the Parkwest well, just south of Airway Heights, because pumping from that well has caused major water supply problems in the area. The Airway Heights City Council approved the agreement last night (Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011).

Pumping from the Parkwest well has lowered the water table so that some nearby residents have not been able to get the water they are entitled to.

The well is located near the intersection of Craig Road and State Route 902. Airway Heights has been using the well under a temporary permit from Ecology for eight years to supply water to industries in Airway Heights. The temporary permit specified, “If senior water right holders are adversely affected, the pumping from this point of withdrawal may be reduced or terminated..."

The new agreement, called an “agreed order,” resulted from extensive negotiations between Ecology and Airway Heights city officials to bring resolution to the water-pumping issue. The cities of Airway Heights, Medical Lake, and Four Lakes all draw water from the same West Plains aquifer—an aquifer that has been dropping 10 feet per year for the past several years. Wells in the area have been going dry, and well owners have had to drill deeper and deeper at great expense.

Ecology is required by state law to enforce water rights. Those who received water rights first—senior water right holders—have a higher priority for using water than those who received water rights later (junior water right holders).

If a senior water rights holder is not getting enough water, Ecology must require the junior water rights holders to discontinue pumping. The Parkwest well is the most junior municipal water right in the West Plains.

“The process to stop pumping from a particular well is governed by specific legal steps and procedures,” said Keith Stoffel, unit manager for Ecology’s Water Resources Program in Spokane. “This agreed order allows for a phase-down on pumping so that alternatives can be developed.”

Stoffel said the agreement does not require full closure of the Parkwest well until mid-2013, with prescribed decreases in pumping required each year until that time. The delay gives Airway Heights enough time to explore and implement available solutions to meet their water needs.

“By implementing water conservation measures, the municipalities with the junior water rights are using much less than their allocated quantities, and this is commendable. It helps, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” said Stoffel.

Airway Heights worked cooperatively with some residents who complained of dry wells by helping them to deepen wells, but that too was only a short-term fix.

With this agreement, the Parkwest well still will be available in case of emergencies. The city of Airway Heights will not only stop pumping from the well by July of 2013, but also will install measuring devices and report weekly water use and other data to Ecology for three years. Regular pumping from the well will stop “until such time in the future that the aquifer has recovered and stabilized.”

Ecology also may need to regulate other wells with junior water rights in the West Plains in order to get groundwater pumping to a safe, sustaining yield, thus protecting farms, Fairchild Air Force Base, and other West Plains communities.

For more information:
Airway Heights web site (http://www.cawh.org/public_works_department.asp)
Ecology’s social media (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html)