The Water Column
Submitted for publication in the 2/8/06 Sounder
A report, scheduled to be adopted by the County Council on Feb 14,
includes references to the formation of "new public utility districts",
and "the merger of Eastsound Water Users Association and Eastsound
Sewer and Water District." Two public meetings will be held on Orcas
Island, one at the Olga Community Club, Feb 8th at 7:00 PM, and the
other at the Eastsound Senior Center Feb 9th at 7PM raising the
question: "Should there be public hearings on Orcas Island in the areas
affected by the plan/report?"
The meetings on Orcas are not sanctioned by the East Orcas Water Supply
Committee.
Eastsound and Rosario need water to support growth. The published goal
is an additional 100 million gallons per year, according to the Draft
Multi-Purpose Water Storage Assessment, which was prepared for San Juan
County by the Montgomery Water Group, Inc. consulting engineers of
Kirkland. Yet, according to the applications filed with the state
Department of Ecology, they are seeking more than 10 times as much
water than is needed, or well over one billion gallons of water per
year. Please take a few moments to consider the impact on Cascade Lake,
Mountain Lake, Cascade Creek and the habitat if these excessive changes
are not constrained by reason.
To put the numbers in perspective, one water right modification
affecting Mountain Lake is equivalent to lowering the level of Mountain
Lake by six feet, according to charts provided by Dennis Flowers,
former ranger at Moran State Park. Those charts show that the
withdrawals would exceed the annual recharge of the lake. One of the
implications of this is that the lake level would drop from year to
year as withdrawals exceed the natural recharge. Why are these charts
not included in the report?
Another water right application for a modification affecting Cascade
Lake is for 1,789 acre feet, which is about half the water in the lake,
but is limited to drawing the lake down no more than six feet below the
normal full level.
Habitat biologist Steve Boessow from the state Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) stated: "Modifying a water right is permanent, and has
very significant and long lasting impacts. Time should be taken to
carefully consider the implications and complete studies."
Why are they seeking 10 times what is needed for projected growth? One
can infer from the sheer volume of water that some people are thinking
of an island-wide water district, with the costs being shared. The
costs of developing water systems is substantial, and the implications
of an island-wide water district are broad and sweeping, and would
affect all systems and members and private well owners, even if they
are not connected by pipes. I urge taxpayers and all of those who enjoy
the island habitat, or just drink water, to question what is happening,
what the impacts will be, who will pay, and to consider other options
for developing our precious resources.
I encourage everyone to be cautious about the real hidden meaning of
some promises, and to scrutinize actions, as they speak much louder
than words. We need to understand what decisions are being made, and to
check the details carefully. Hopefully enough people will read the
related documents, check the internet, seek thorough information so
that we can come to a carefully considered, and informed decision that
will be beneficial for generations to come.
Many questions have been brought up, including: 1) Are there protected
species in the habitat that will be detrimentally affected by the
proposed changes? The Mountain Lake watershed flows into Cascade Creek,
which discharges into Buck Bay. Mark Schuller, a State Regional Habitat
Habitat Manager reported first hand observations of salmon spawning in
Cascade Creek, and went on to say, "As far as I have been able to
determine, this is the only stream in the San Juan Islands that still
supports a viable run of salmon and has, by far, the largest population
of sea-run cutthroat trout in the islands." His entire letter and other
reports on the protected species in Mountain Lake watershed are
available online in the bibliography below.
2) Has the public been made aware that the proposed changes will
probably dry up the summer flow in Cascade Creek below the one lane
bridge in Moran Park? This can be verified by a simple scientific test
approved by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. 3) Do
you feel, as a member of this community, that you have been informed of
meeting times, agendas and minutes of the meetings over the past two
years to address these issues for East Orcas Island? (Only a few dozen
people were notified by email.) 4) Once the identified need for 100
million gallons has been met, is it wise to accept the current habitat
protection plan based on converting the remaining billion gallons of
under-used water rights to domestic use?
To transfer a water right, the state must verify that the water right
has been put to continuous use, or else the right has been relinquished
to the state. This is to prevent hoarding of a public resource and
selling it for a profit. Also additional restrictions can be placed on
a transfer aimed at ensuring that the new use of the water right does
not cause any additional impacts. (Wash. State Dept. of Ecology report
98-1802-WR). Water is a precious resource belonging to this community,
we should actively participate in these critical decisions in the
upcoming public meetings in Eastsound.
If you would like more information, a bibliography, including copies of
the letters and reports mentioned above and a list of more questions,
is available on line at: www.olgawater.com/docs
Thank you,
Sandy Taylor
Olga
Editor's Note: Sandy Taylor is engineering officer for the Olga Water
Users Board and is a member of the East Orcas Water Supply Committee.
He is an engineering physicist and the inventor of 21 US patents.
This page is intended to include
relevant public information
for the benefit of those who care about these remarkable watersheds on
Orcas Island. The ideas and opinions presented here do not
necessarily
represent the
policies, procedures or opinions of Olga Water Users Inc. or it's
board. My thanks to Olga Water Users for allowing this to be posted
under their web site.
If you have information to add, or corrections, please call Sandy
Taylor at 376 3815.
Or email:
I hope this information useful to the community.
updated 2/7/2006