January 20, 2000 Meeting Minutes
University of Idaho, McClure Hall Rm. 207
VISITORS: Kathleen Warnick (citizen, Moscow), Bill French (citizen, Moscow), Tom Lamar (Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute), Toby O'Geen (UI), Paul McDaniel (UI), Jim Osiensky (UI), Kent Keller (WSU)
Chair Larry Kirkland called the meeting to order at 2:35 PM.
Minutes from the December 9, 1999 meeting were approved by
consensus with no changes.
2.
GUEST
PRESENTATION - “The value of our water- an economic evaluation of
the optimal timing of induced recharge in the Palouse Basin”, Mike Nelson, WSU
Economics Ph.D. Candidate. Rescheduled for February meeting.
3.
OSIENSKY-KELLER
SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
Jim Osiensky: 12 data loggers have been monitoring water levels in wells around the basin since summer, primarily in wells that are screened in the Grande Ronde (deeper) aquifer. Data loggers were removed from wells that do not appear to respond to pumping and show little or no fluctuations. Two graduate students projects have evolved from this research: Diane Hopster will conduct a flow system analysis by analyzing the recharge/discharge relationships of selected springs within the basin, and Landon Beck will be comparing water level data from data loggers to pumping data supplied by the entities to evaluate well and aquifer hydraulics. The research team anticipates conducting basin-wide "opportunistic" aquifer testing as pumps are turned on and off seasonally. A large scale, coordinated aquifer test will be attempted during a period of low pumping (Fall 2000) by shutting down pumping in as many wells as possible and monitoring local well responses at selected locations within the basin. Dr. Osiensky asked M. Workman if Well No. 2, scheduled for abandonment, could be left in place as a monitoring point.
[Note: M. Workman later
indicated that Well No. 2 will need to be abandoned to permit construction of
Well No. 7, however nearby Well No. 4 will be inactive but maintained for
monitoring after installation of Well No. 7.]
Kent Keller: Periodic sampling of both Paradise Creek in Pullman and "airport creek" along Airport Road has been conducted since summer. Oxygen isotope analyses, which have previously been shown to be distinct in the two aquifers, are also distinct in the two creeks during periods of baseflow. A large component of flow in Paradise Creek is effluent from the Moscow wastewater treatment plant, consisting primarily of water pumped from the Grande Ronde aquifer, and the istopic analyses reveal a strong Grande Ronde component in Paradise Creek. "Airport Creek" receives discharge from groundwater, presumably from the shallower Wanapum aquifer based on elevation. The isotopic "signature" in Airport Creek is consistent with a Wanapum isotopic signature. These results indicate that the oxygen isotopic method of differentiating between groundwater from the two aquifers should help “trace” the source of groundwater discharge to springs.
Drs. Osiensky and
Keller also explained that the consequences of declining water levels in a
confined aquifer (like the Grande Ronde) result in a loss of groundwater
storage in the aquifer. Analogous to
squeezing water out of a sponge, declining water levels reflect a decrease in
the porosity of the fractured basalt aquifer due to vertical compression. Because basalt is very incompressible, very
little compression can occur.
Therefore, the storativity loss of the Grande Ronde aquifer is very
low. If there was no recharge, expected
water level declines in an aquifer with such low storativity would be on the
order of at least 5 feet per year at current pumping rates. Actual water level declines are more like 1
foot per year, indicating there is some component of recharge reaching the
aquifer.
4. GROWTH POSITION –Discussion of Goal No. 5 in Groundwater Management Plan update. After some discussion the following points were generally accepted:
· After 10 years of holding pumping in the basin within the 1% annual increase limit, water levels in the Grande Ronde have not leveled out as expected. A new paradigm for stabilizing the falling Grand Ronde water levels is needed.
· PBAC will not generally comment to the public or planning bodies on the impact of population growth and land-use decisions on groundwater availability, but will retain the goal as it currently is written to allow for comment on specific projects if proposed projects are expected to violate the goals of the Groundwater Management Plan.
· It is the role of the Committee to provide the Entities with the information necessary to make decisions regarding the impact of growth and land-use on groundwater supplies. Some questions can not be answered at this time (for example, "How much time remains before we run out of water?" and “What is the rate of recharge to the aquifer systems?”). However, other pertinent questions can and should be answered by the Committee (for example, "What is the cost of various alternatives for supplementing the limited groundwater supply?"). The Osiensky-Keller research will provide information that is expected to help answer some of these questions and contribute to a long-term solution for stabilizing water levels in the Grande Ronde aquifer system.
· City officials acknowledged that it will be politically difficult for the cities to increase water rates and/or take other proactive steps to raise the funds necessary for projects to stabilize the water levels in the Grande Ronde aquifer system without answers to the above and similar difficult questions.
5. BUDGET DISCUSSION
The average annual operating budget of PBAC, excluding
research funding, has been ~$30,000 for the last 5 years; however, the entities
normally contribute only $20,000 per year.
The Committee is on-track to spend the projected $30,000 this year and
there is no longer a reserve. After
some discussion it was agreed that the Committee would be as frugal as possible
for the duration of this fiscal year, the projected budget shortfall would be
made up with funds targeted for future years of the Osiensky-Keller project,
and the Committee would pursue sources of additional funding elsewhere, for
example from the State of Idaho. L.
Kirkland pointed out that the entities need to provide additional funds to
maintain the Committee operations at the same level and would like to revisit
the entire budgeting and revenue generating process before next fiscal year.
One idea is to create a fee structure for the entities that is based on how
much groundwater is pumped in addition to the membership fee.
6. REPORTS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
a. 1999 Pumping and Water Level Data - preliminary charts showing the water levels and pumping data were distributed. Water level declines continue at the same rate and the total groundwater pumped in the basin was only slightly higher than in 1998. A draft of the updated sections of the 1999 Annual Report should be ready for review by Committee members by the February meeting.
b.
Update from entities on water-related projects
i. WSU/Pullman update on effluent reuse project - WSU has a consultant evaluating the quantity of water that could be saved by implementation of this project.
ii. Palouse Well - The well has been drilled and an aquifer pump test is scheduled for sometime in February.
c. PBAC 2000 Calendar, agendas, and minutes available online at www.uidaho.edu/pbac.
d. Proposal for additional funding for Osiensky-Keller project from State of Idaho is almost complete.
[Note: proposal was submitted to
Representative Tom Trail on January 28, 2000 for $300,000 over three years.]
e. Daily News newspaper piece written by J. McKenna was distributed for review.
[Note: After review, it was the opinion of
several committee members that additional discussion is needed and that the
piece not be submitted at this time to newspaper.]
f. Water Conservation Education Group - J. McKenna met with a diverse group of people interested in and/or actively involved in water conservation education on the Palouse to make available the materials and information in the Committee files.
g. Environmental Science Interns for Spring - J. McKenna is overseeing four Environmental Science majors senior internships this spring. Projects are as follows: Water conservation education, residential gray water systems, evaluation of tertiary treatment methods for wastewater, and evaluation of City of Moscow hydrant flushing program.
7.
NEW BUSINESS
a. Dr. Paul McDaniel, UI Soil Scientist and his student, Toby O’Geen, have submitted a proposal to the state to start a GIS database of the Palouse Basin. Should this project be funded, L. Kirkland would like to see coordination with the Osiensky-Keller project to maximize benefits.
b. Tom Townsend noted that there was a recent "60 Minutes" special on the fuel oxygenate MTBE and groundwater contamination. There has been coverage in the local newspaper, and although it is not required in gas in the Pullman-Moscow area, there may be questions about local water supplies.
[Note: as of this writing, both Pullman and
Moscow have sampled their wells for analysis of MTBE. Results are not yet available.]
8.
NEXT MEETING
DATE
February
17, 2000 in McClure Hall Room 407.
Note
room was changed to provide more space for meetings.
9.
ADJOURNMENT
- Meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Juliet M. McKenna
Executive Secretary/Technical Advisor
These minutes are submitted in final
form and have been approved by the Committee.