By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
The city of Medical Lake wants to stay ahead when it comes to finding effective, enforceable methods to dealing with the West Plains' growing water shortage, especially during summer when consumption rates are at their highest.
2006 was the city's biggest year in terms of water consumption, City Administrator Doug Ross said. Outside of occasional mechanical failure, water resources aren't tapped to the point the city must ask residents to stop watering, or pass restrictive fines for use, but a 2007 systems report showed the city's public water system won't be sufficient to meet projected needs for the next six to 20 years.
Water issues stem from a combination of factors affecting not just Medical Lake, but the greater West Plains, and most can be traced to continued tapping of the local aquifer which has a slow recharge rate.
“Everyone has a theory as to why the water problem exists, but I think the universal buy-off from that is that the problem does exist,” Ross said. “It's a West Plains issue, not just a city of Medical Lake issue.”
The City Council enacted a moratorium in April as a result of its reduced water supply that's put a temporary suspension on certain land use actions, including acceptance of new plats. The updated city comprehensive plan also took into account the water system report findings by listing reduced levels of service for domestic water supply, changing daily consumption rates from 1,000 gallons per day to 750 gallons per day per equivalent residential unit.
Officials want to it make clear, however, that the moratorium measure won't put a stop to any building on pre-platted lots that were approved prior to the moratorium, which was extended another six months on June 5.
The extension came with a request from City Council that officials use this time to formulate a work plan for conservation with options for re-use and new water sources—areas officials either already have, or plan to look into.
“We've prohibited watering between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. between June and August,” Ross said of a measure implemented just recently that's expected to allow the city reservoir more time to refill.
It's a measure commonly used in southwestern states where water issues tend to be more prevalent, he said, adding that the city is continuing talks with the Spokane County Water Conservation district on new ways to conserve.
“The key trick is to find something that's both effective and enforceable,” he said.
The city is also working with Medical Lake School District and its parks and recreation department to limit irrigation. The school district and city parks account for the biggest drain on local water supply, though this recent coordination helps to a degree.
“It's a waiting period for us in a sense that we have to hit a 90-degree day and see where the wells are at,” Ross said.
Water re-use options through the city wastewater treatment plant is another measure Ross said is being explored about as far as using reclaimed water from the plant to irrigate city properties such as Shepard Field, other parks and possibly school property.
The option would require the city to provide infrastructure for irrigation connections, costs for which can be high, though in the case of Shepard Field, 80 percent of needed infrastructure already exists, Ross said.
Apart from installation costs, other limiting factors include state bureaucracies dictating use of reclaimed water, and a limited amount of flow at the treatment plant during summer months.
Beginning a water interitie to the Spokane aquifer is another avenue that's been discussed, and could happen as soon as the end of this year, as the city of Spokane is reportedly scheduled to run a water main to Craig Road. Interties, however, are typically for emergency purposes only.
“Use would be as needed for those three [summer] months. It wouldn't become part of the regular water supply,” Ross said.
What officials hope to see accomplished when the moratorium's six-months are up is a solid work plan of ideas on how to proceed with the water situation. If residents need information or direction on compliance with current city conservation measures, they should contact City Hall.
“Most [residents] are fairly compliant,” he said. “Outside of mechanical failure, we've never had to ask people to stop watering…any little prevention we can do to keep that from happening helps.”
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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