Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Drought concerns still linger

Ketchum considering new measures to conserve water

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Although drought conditions have not prevailed this summer, Ketchum residents should conserve water and prepare themselves for the possible implementation of new water-use restrictions, the city’s utilities manager said this week.

Steve Hansen, who oversees operation of Ketchum’s water and sewer systems, told the City Council Monday, July 19 that the city’s water supply is holding steady this summer, largely because of cool weather and frequent rain.

Despite the good news, he said, growth, uncertainty about future weather conditions and excessive water consumption by some residents have prompted consideration of new measures to conserve the region’s most-precious resource.

Hansen presented the update on the city’s water supplies as a response to growing concerns among administrators of Idaho cities that water will become increasingly scarce in the coming years. Indeed, water consumption was a primary topic at the 2004 Association of Idaho Cities convention earlier this year.

Hansen said the northern Wood River Valley is blessed with a surprisingly resilient water supply, but residents nonetheless "need to recognize that the rest of the state is in a pretty bad situation."

Hansen said Ketchum residents, business operators and landowners have collectively consumed an average of 143 million gallons of water per month in each of the last four summers.

In June, Ketchum users consumed 135 million gallons of water from the city’s sources—a series of six wells, five of which draw from an aquifer linked to the Big Wood River.

Although consumption is down this summer compared to the previous four years, Hansen said, overall water consumption in Ketchum is up 32 percent since 1990.

To meet the growing demand, the city currently employs a pricing structure that favors conservation and activates restrictions when water-storage levels drop too low.

An average user is expected to consume between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons per month, Hansen said. Users who consume in excess of 100,000 gallons incur a significant price penalty.

Last summer, Hansen said, 198 water accounts in the city exceeded the 100,000-gallon-per-month threshold. As a result, some 11 percent of users were consuming nearly 25 percent of the city’s water, he said.

Council President Randy Hall called for action to reduce the instances of what he called "extravagant" consumption, claiming several large residences on the northern edge of the city are the most notable examples.

"They’re not here for but two or three weeks of the summer and they have an emerald-green lawn," he said.

Hall said he would like to see the city consider regulations to discourage expansive lawns.

City Engineer Dick Fosbury said the use of 100,000 gallons of water per month is not always indicative of excessive consumption.

However, he conceded that most regional property owners could benefit from education on water conservation.

"Most of the people that come here, they don’t have a clue about this desert we live in," Fosbury said.

Although no new water-use restrictions were proposed this week, Hansen said he intends to see the city review its options, including a potential policy restricting irrigation to odd or even calendar dates.

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