Members ATtendance

 VISITORS:  Nancy Chaney, Moscow City Council; Farida Leek, WSU Ph D Student; Joan Wu, WSU Professor of biological engineering; Bob Haynes, CDA Regional Manager IDWR; Kathleen Warnick, interested citizen.

1)      Approval of the July 15, 2004 Meeting Minutes – Rob Corcoran, the PBAC Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:33 PM. The minutes were approved unanimously.

2)      Consideration of a Passive Recharge Project using UI Well # 2 – When UI pulled the pump out of well #2 this spring PBAC asked to use the well for a shallow aquifer monitoring well.  In July, Golder Associates’ Jim Bailey was in the area with his downhole video truck.  He graciously made a video of UI well # 2 while demonstrating the equipment.  The video showed water streaming through a cracked casing wield about 158 feet down. The crack is allowing water from an upper Wanapum aquifer to flow down the well and out through corrosion holes into a lower Wanapum aquifer below 242 feet. This is a de facto passive recharge well, because the water is flowing from an upper aquifer via the well into the lower a lower aquifer.  This may have been occurring for 30 years or more years. The well was turned off because of the sand flowing into the well and adversely impacting the pump and water system. Kirkland proposed to set up a passive recharge monitoring project using UI well # 2.  Most of the testing proposed for the pilot passive recharge project connecting the shallow aquifer system with the deep aquifer system could be carried out on this serendipitous recharge well at a significantly reduced cost.  Such a pilot project would also provide an excellent means to educate the public without the concerns related to putting shallow aquifer water into the deep aquifer system. The money appears to be in the budget to pay for the proposed monitoring and testing project. Kirkland estimated that the cost for a two year project should be about $45,000.  Kirkland asked Bob Hayes if IDWR could come in and shut the well down because it is mixing waters from two aquifers in the shallow aquifer system.  Hayes responded that he did not think that it would happen. He said that he would ask Karl Dreher, the Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, for further information. It was moved to approve the passive recharge project contingent upon IDWR approval. After some discussion the motion was held over until next meeting when more information might be brought to light.  Mark Workman (who was not present) stated to Kirkland at a previous time that there is a well in Pullman that appears to be doing basically the same thing.

3)      Summary of Current Projects –Kirkland briefly went over current projects funded by PBAC.

a)      Gravity/Magnetics/Resistivity Investigation of Depth to Crystalline Basement Rocks in the Palouse Basin, of Latah County, Idaho and Whitman County, Washington and the Impact on the Geohydrology of the Palouse Basin.  The goal of this geophysical study is to locate the boundaries that define the aquifers and the Palouse basin. This research is of importance because it will help clarify basin size, shape and connectivity as well as the impacts on the aquifer systems.  It will also provide valuable information that could be used to enhance recharge, locate future wells and monitoring well fields, construct a new basin model, calculate the amount of water available in the basin and refine our understanding of subbasins.

b)     Collection of Deep Aquifer Water Level Data and Detailed Analysis of Large-scale Pump Tests.  This is a continuation Eric Stern’s work. This project will continue the monitoring of deep aquifer water levels in previously monitored wells while seeking new monitor well in key areas of the basin. In addition, extensive data analysis will be done on the water level data already collected. This should give us further insights into basin boundaries, the direction of water movement and the connectivity between pumping centers.

c)      Benchmarking Shallow Aquifer Parameters for Palouse Basin.  Thus far, only sporadic monitoring and testing of the Wanapum aquifer system has been done. This project will systematically study the shallow aquifer system.  It will establish benchmark data for key shallow aquifer system parameters to facilitate identifying impacts of growth, future recharge projects, large pumping facilities and the introduction of a contaminant.  This project will start in Latah County and move into Whitman County.  Latah County will assist with the funding.

d)     Monitoring Well Field.  This past summer a UI student has been studying the best sites to locate the proposed monitoring wells. The first site will be between Pullman and the Kamiak Gap in Whitman County. Three wells will be drilled, one into the Wanapum and two into the Grande Ronde (a shallow and a deep). These wells will help to evaluate the connectivity between pumping centers and ascertain the direction of water movement in the two aquifer systems.  A key question PBAC is seeking to answer is whether recharge from the North Fork of the Palouse River is moving toward the Moscow and Pullman pumping centers or can be induced to do so. This monitoring well field will assist in further understanding potential ways to recharge both aquifers, as well as providing valuable geologic and monitoring data for an area without any deep wells.

e)      Comprehensive GIS Database for the Palouse Basin. This is the second year of the project being worked on by Farida Leek and others at WSU. She is building a database that looks at the entire basin in information layers. Example layers include well locations, lithology, water levels, soil types and topography. The purpose of this project is to make all the critical basin data readily available to anyone needing it. This will greatly aide future basin research.

f)       Geologic Maps of Whitman County. This is John Bush’s project from last year which is almost complete. He has constructed and computerized 3 large-scale geologic maps of Whitman County. The increased detail will facilitate understanding of the impacts area geology has on recharge and water movement in the basin.  There are several cross-sections attached to the maps which will enhance the visual aids provided by the maps.

g)     Lithology and Fence Diagrams of Palouse Basin. This also is a John Bush project from last year that will be completed by the end of 2004.  Bush has made fence diagrams of the Palouse basin lithology using information from basin well logs. The diagrams show at a glance the changes in the subsurface geology from place to place in the basin.

h)     Passive Drainage Well.  Proposed project. Please see item 2 of this month’s minutes.
 

4)      OLD BUSINESS

a)      Annual Report: Not yet finished.

b)     Budget Review – An updated budget sheet was handed out, and the budget was reviewed. The sheet did not show current expenditures since some budgets are still being set up.   Next month’s budget sheet should show all expenditures to date and how much money is available in each budget.
 

5)      REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

a)      WRIA – A steering committee meeting was held on August 18, 2004. The main point of business covered was finalizing the contracts with a consultant, with work to start this fall.  
 

b)     Idaho Interim Natural Resource Legislative Committee (IINRLC)  Hearings
The last north Idaho subcommittee meeting held in Orophino requested recommendations on four legislative directives from PBAC for the Palouse Basin.  The next north Idaho subcommittee to take place in Moscow is planning for late September.  Kirkland presented general cost estimates to IINLC in June for 4 key PBAC projects. These projects are needed to help PBAC finalize a plan to stabilize deep aquifer water levels. Golder Associates was hired to give a second opinion on the cost estimates. The Golder Associates independent cost evaluations are quite close to those presented by Kirkland to IINLC in June.  The PBAC recommendations and the estimates for the 4 key PBAC projects will be made at the September subcommittee meeting.
 

c)      Status of IDWR Order regarding Idaho Portion of Palouse Basin – Bob Hayes said that the IDWR director has an electronic copy of the proposed draft response.  A final version is expected to be completed and released this fall.
 

d)     Exposure in the Communities – Pullman has chosen the site for the new well which will replace well 3. The City has also started distributing water saving devices to citizens.  Pullman reported that overall water use is down this summer.
Moscow is just kicking off its water and sewer rate study. Some rate changes are anticipated to go into effect in the spring. Several citizens have expressed some displeasure over the water restrictions and more specifically, the browner lawns.
Colfax had an inspection of its water lines done this summer.  Several leaks were found; the largest being 30 gpm.

e)      Naylor Farm Water Right Application Update – Bob Haynes said a notice has been sent out for the water right hearing on Naylor Farms, scheduled for September 26, 2004.  A letter has been received stating that Whitman County has withdrawn from its position as an intervener. The hearing will not be necessary if the remaining interveners withdraw all objections to the proposed protocol or can reach an agreement with Naylor Farm concerning supplemental protocol before the scheduled September 26^th hearing date. Haynes said a recommendation will be needed from PBAC on the compatibility of the proposed water right with the Palouse Basin Plan.  PBAC will receive a formal request at the appropriate time.  Haynes gave PBAC a disk containing all the Naylor Farm application information turned in to IDWR. The disk will be copied and made available to PBAC members.  Once agreement is reached with all parties, the earliest that Naylor Farm might be able to drill a well is in a month to six weeks of the decision.  However, based on the protocol, the first year after drilling will be devoted to water level monitoring and connectivity testing. 
Kirkland stated that Naylor Farm representatives said that they would be willing to make a presentation to PBAC regarding their core drilling and studies of potential pumping from the farm site.

 

6)      NEW BUSINESS- No new business    

 

7)      NEXT MEETING DATE

The meeting was adjourned by consensus.

Respectfully Submitted,

Larry Kirkland