DRAFT April 19,
2001 Meeting Minutes
University of
Idaho, McClure Hall Rm. 411
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UI: Larry Kirkland,
Facilities Engineer |
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WSU: Craig Benjamin
(Chair), Assistant Director of Facilities Operations |
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UI: Jay Becker
(Vice-Chair), Assistant Director, Utilities and Engineering |
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WSU: Pete Grigas,
Facilities Planning |
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Moscow: Tom Scallorn,
Water Dept. Superintendent |
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Pullman: Mark Workman,
Dir. Public Works |
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Moscow: Steve Busch, City
Council Member |
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Pullman: Sue Hinz, City
Council Member |
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Latah County: Loreca
Stauber, County Commissioner |
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Whitman County: Jerry
Finch, County Commissioner |
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Latah County: Tom
Townsend, citizen |
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Whitman County: Derek
Pohle, County Engineer |
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Executive Secretary and
Technical Advisor: Juliet McKenna |
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Bill French (Moscow resident), Art Garro (Pullman), Dale Ralston (guest presenter), Kathleen Warnick (Latah County resident)
Craig Benjamin (Chair) called the meeting to order at 2:30 P.M. Minutes were approved as distributed with one minor grammatical correction on the first page.
The project proposed by Dr. Ralston (emeritus UI hydrology professor and president of Ralston Hydrologic Services, Inc.) is designed to increase the recharge to the lower aquifer in the Moscow area in two phases. The first phase would be to construct connector wells to allow controlled drainage of water from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer. Because the flow of water from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer would form a cone of depression (area of lowered water levels) in the upper aquifer, the second phase, if needed, would be to increase recharge to the upper aquifer to limit impacts on shallow wells in the area. The use of connector wells appears to offer the opportunity of increasing recharge to the lower aquifer with a greater probability of success than other alternatives.
The connector wells would be constructed to allow the downward drainage of water from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer under controlled conditions. The casing in each connector well would be sealed in place both above the upper aquifer and between the upper and lower aquifers. The casing would be perforated opposite producing zones in both the upper and lower aquifers. Flow within the borehole could be shut off using a packer assembly packer as desired. Abandonment of a connector well could be accomplished by pouring a grout seal over the inflated packer.
The attached five-page summary describes the project in more detail, and lists the questions relating to water quality, water quantity, legality, and economics that would need to be addressed before proceeding with a full-scale project. The technical subcommittee of PBAC will discuss the merits of the project and provide a recommendation on how to proceed at the next meeting.
No report; L. Kirkland distributed a memo on options for supplemental water. The next step is to evaluate the options and look for “fatal flaws”. The Chair requested that the Subcommittee prepare a recommendation on how to spend the state funds by the May meeting.
At a future date, J. Becker will summarize options for setting funding of PBAC operations based on percentage of groundwater pumped for the four pumping entities and a base rate for the counties.
T. Townsend spoke with Norm Young of IDWR on PBAC's status as a legal entity and the options for creating a coordinating agency with power assigned by both states in lieu of independent agreements with each state. Mr. Young stated that there is some precedent between Idaho and Utah with Bear Lake, but that in practice the agency is ineffective as no individual entity gave up power to the governing body. Dale Ralston suggested looking at the abstracts from the most recent National Ground Water Association meeting, which featured interjurisdictional groundwater management.
WSU legal staff incorporated comments and reformatted the document. J. Becker will confirm the new format is OK with UI legal staff. Then the document will be finalized and distributed for signatures.
A draft of the GMP Update is complete. Comments were requested by March 30, 2001. The final document should be published by PBAC upon signing the Intergovernmental Agreement and the completion of the Action plan by Whitman County.
Idaho –Idaho has granted $100,000 to PBAC for FY 2002.
Washington – J. McKenna spoke with Representative Mark Schoesler about the City of Pullman's request to fund design of the wastewater reuse project. Rep. Schoesler is cautiously optimistic. The project is well-received and well-timed considering current drought conditions in the state. The project was not included in the Senate budget. The House budget will be finalized in the next week or so. If the project is in the House budget, then it will need to be included in the final budget that is passed by both the House and Senate.
Over 150 copies of the Annual Report have been mailed out. Additional copies are available. C. Benjamin reported a positive response from recipients.
Roy Mink and Craig Benjamin are still discussing options for part-time contract work through IWRRI, that may enable a search for a person who can work full-time (part-time with PBAC and part-time with IWRRI). This is still under development.
In the interim, PBAC member Larry Kirkland will be available to take on some of the Executive Secretary's responsibilities after Juliet McKenna's departure in May. S. Busch motioned that Chair and Vice Chair are authorized to make arrangements to purchase some of L. Kirkland's time for PBAC responsibilities. Pete Grigas seconded. The motion passed unopposed and without comment.
The Moscow Water Department is organizing an Open House at the water treatment plant on May 9 from 12 to 7 in recognition of Drinking Water Week. It will include a kids poster contest, free food and drink, free water conservation devices, and tours of the facility.
In the last month, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News published a headline article on local water conservation efforts and another headline article on the money received from the State of Idaho. J. McKenna was disappointed that Representatives Tom Trail and Gary Young and Senator Gary Schroeder were not mentioned in the article for their critical role in making the funding a reality. She will write a letter to the Daily News.
Moscow – T. Scallorn reported that Moscow is preparing a three-year water conservation plan. S. Busch, Council President, reported that there will be a water workshop for City Council on May 14 at 7:30 P.M. to review the current water situation and plan for the future. PBAC has no objections to distributing copies of the draft Groundwater Management Plan to council members in preparation of the workshop. S. Busch will invite the Mayor and City Council of Pullman to attend as a courtesy.
Pullman –John Bush's report on Well 7 will be available next week. J. McKenna provided some research on low water use landscaping ordinances to Pete Dickinson, Pullman City Planner, at his request. J. McKenna worked with the City of Pullman to include water conservation tips in the may issue of Community Update (monthly city publication) and to prepare a flyer with summer water use tips for inclusion in the May water bill.
PBAC elections will be held next month. Current PBAC Chair, Craig Benjamin, has accepted a position with the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and will be moving by June 2001.
Thursday, May 17,
2001 at 2:30 pm
McClure Hall Room 411
The meeting was adjourned by consensus.
Respectfully Submitted,
Juliet M. McKenna
Executive Secretary/Technical Advisor
Note: these minutes are submitted in draft
form and have not yet been approved by the Committee.