New Management Program for Lewis County shorelines need public input

County residents have until March 16 to weigh in

With more than 1,100 miles of river shoreline, Lewis County's new Management Program will affect
residents throughout the county. 

If you appreciate shoreline ecology, you’ll like the waters of Lewis County. The county boasts more than 1,100 miles of shoreline, including the Nisqually, Chehalis, Deschutes and Cowlitz rivers, numerous tributaries and 34 lakes.

Restoration of the Upper Chehalis River is a priority under the new Lewis
County Shoreline Management Program.

That’s a lot of water front property.

Lewis County has proposed changes to how it manages the edges of those waterbodies and the Department of Ecology is asking the public to weigh in on those plans. Ecology will compare the county’s proposed program to the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison and the comments the plan receives, Ecology will decide whether to approve the program or ask for changes.

Lewis County’s first Shoreline Master Program was adopted in 1974 and last amended in 1998. The comprehensive update now under consideration prioritizes water-oriented uses and development, protects sensitive areas and includes a restoration plan for degraded and damaged shoreline.

The restoration plan is a 98-page document that identifies priority projects within 16 management areas. An example is Lewis County’s five Upper Chehalis Management Areas, which include hundreds of river miles along the Coast Range, Willapa Hills, Puget Lowlands, Western Foothills and Cascade Lowlands, along hundreds of river miles. Restoration priorities include improved fish passage, restoration of riparian vegetation, and reconnecting the main stem of the Chehalis River and its tributaries with their floodplains..

The public has until 5 p.m. March 16 to comment on Lewis County’s program.

Lewis County’s proposed Shoreline Master Program can be viewed online. Paper copies can be viewed at Ecology’s Southwest Regional Office, 300 Desmond Dr., Lacey, WA 98577, or at the Lewis County Community Development office, 2025 NE Kresky Ave., Chehalis, WA, 98532.

Comments should be addressed to Ecology’s Kim Van Zwalenburg. Here’s how to submit them:

Mail:      Southwest Regional Office
              PO Box 47775
              Olympia, WA 98504-7775
Email:    kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov
Phone:  360-407-6520

By Dave Bennett, Southwest Region communications

Water conservation activities for kids

Saving water is a family affair

by Lynne Geller, communications and outreach, Water Resources Program

Photo credit: Province of British Columbia

If there is one thing the 2015 drought is teaching us, it is not to take water for granted. (As of Oct. 20, 68% of our state is still in “extreme drought”.) Practicing water conservation every day, every year, just makes sense. Conserving simply means not wasting.

Why not make learning about water conservation enjoyable, for you and your family? The web has a wealth of free learning materials for kids of all ages. Spend some quality time with the kids in your life, learn some new things, and have some fun -- all at the same time. And along the way, understand more about the importance of water conservation and what you can do to save water.

Check out the Water Use It Wisely web pages. You will find interactive and downloadable games. You can go to the Tip Tank and learn water saving tips using a memory game of matching pictures (you may know the game as “Concentration”). Discover the role of water in our lives: Spin the earth to select a topic (for example, the water cycle, watersheds, using water wisely.) Then for each topic, there are games, quizzes and a video, plus other learning tools. Or have some fun testing your skill at saving raindrops, working against the clock.

WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is all about using water efficiently. You have probably seen the WaterSense label on products like showerheads and toilets – and even new single-family homes! WaterSense Kids provides some basic water use information and then you are tested in a challenging “Test Your WaterSense” interactive game. Help your kids take a water drop through a maze of water pipes and answer water use questions, while being careful to not to be gobbled up by Water Wasters.

Try your hand at Washing Machine Basketball and other interactive games at conserveh2o.org. The site also has downloadable activity books where you can connect-the-dots, find your way through mazes, color by number, find the picture that doesn’t belong – and be learning about water and water conservation at the same time. 

If you are feeling a little more ambitious, look at the materials developed by WaterSense for kids grades 3 through 5: WaterSense materials for elementary-level kids. There are two sets of learning materials, A Day in the Life of a Drop and Fix a Leak Week. The web has a great selection of materials for educators.

These links are just a start. Conserving water in the home isn’t hard – it’s just about learning some easy things to do, and then remembering to do them! Start today, and make it a family affair.

End of the Drought? I think Not!

by Mark Guthrie, Landscape Water Conservation Program Manager, Seattle Public Utilities

In Washington, when it rains, it often pours! But that hasn’t happened yet, and the drought is not over. We’ve had some rain, but Seattle’s reservoirs have not refilled, and there are predictions that the fall, winter, and next spring may be warmer and drier than normal. So keep conserving water! Conservation is important— and not just for drinking water from our reservoirs, but also for healthy fish habitat. Now is the time of year when salmon return and need higher river levels and stream flows to spawn successfully.

Here are some tips to help you conserve water in your landscape this fall and winter:

Stop watering

As temperatures become cooler and the days shorter, plants enter the initial phase of dormancy when no water is needed. This is the time to adjust your irrigation system for the cooler seasons.

• Fix leaky sprinkler heads and broken nozzles.
• Turn off your automatic irrigation timer.
• Before it freezes, turn off the water supply to your irrigation system, drain water (if possible), and insulate above-ground pipes.
• Remove the cup or bowl of your irrigation system’s rain sensor and place a cover over the remaining rain sensor.

Weed and mulch

After your fall clean-up and weeding, add a 2–3 inch layer of mulch to the soil surface. Arborist wood chips work best around woody plants and trees, while fall leaves or compost should go around perennials. Mulch helps protect plant roots during freezing weather. Mulch also helps reduce water evaporation, blocks weeds, prevents erosion by winter rains and feeds the soil. If next spring is warm and dry, your mulching will be much appreciated!

Water young trees efficiently

We’re getting some rain, but not quite enough for our trees, especially after the record hot, dry summer. Young trees planted within the last 5 years should still be watered once per week. Save our water and our trees by watering efficiently with a 15 or 20 gallon water bag.

  

Questions?

Contact the Garden Hotline for free answers to your gardening questions!
(206) 633‑0224 or www.gardenhotline.org

Visit www.savingwater.org for more watering tips and lots of information about environmentally friendly lawn and garden care.

Colleges help lead the way in water conservation

by Lynne Geller, communications and outreach, Water Resources

The month of October brings us Columbus Day and Halloween –also Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day (Oct. 8), Evaluate Your Life Day (Oct. 19), and National Forgiveness Day (Oct. 25) – depending on the calendar you are using. But today we are recognizing October as Campus Sustainability Month.

Colleges and universities around the world are making impressive strides in “walking the talk” – making their personal and collective choices sustainable, including conserving water. And many of those institutions are right here in Washington state.

Shout-out to the University of Washington

Students enjoying a spring day at the UW, Seattle.
Credit: sea turtle / Flickr Creative Commons

Since 2001, the University of Washington has spent some $3 million on saving water. And it’s paying off: water usage has significantly dropped (and they have the numbers to prove it!) In FY2015, they even exceeded their target goal by using less than expected. (Yes, in the conservation world, less is more.)

UW provides many examples, big and small, indoors and out, of actions that contribute to less water use. Facilities Services has expanded the use of automatic irrigation systems. They have installed sub-meters which will help identify leaks, which are a notorious water-waster. Lower visibility/priority lawn areas were let go dormant this summer. Water from rainwater collection serves a number of purposes throughout the campus.

UW has identified water-wasting equipment and updated them, such as replacing water cooled compressors with air cooled ones. On a smaller scale, they are letting more time go by between washings for the motor pool. And they have reduced the amount of power washing they do, just focusing on removing graffiti and slippery surfaces. Both these efforts save water and don’t really upset anyone’s sensibilities. Check out this campus map to see all the cool sustainability stuff going on at UW.

Photo by Suzanne Shaw

Hats off to Whitman College

Whitman College, in Walla Walla, has a lot to be proud of. Whitman’s landscaping team works with an eye towards both beauty and sustainability. This includes the use of native and drought-tolerant plants, and using non-potable water for much of their irrigation needs. Using GPS to mark the coordinates of nearly 6,000 sprinkler heads, they performed a water audit. They determined the coverage area of each sprinkler, which helps them use as few sprinkler heads as possible.

Inside buildings, they are using water conservation devices such as dual flush toilets, and low-flow showerheads and faucets. Front-loading washing machines are the norm. Systems are in place to detect and repair water leaks.

The college’s fitness center has a heat recovery system that recaptures and recycles the warm water that rises off the swimming pool. After running through an evaporator, the water and latent heat are extracted and used to heat the pool. Talk about reuse! For more information on Whitman College’s sustainability efforts, look here.

Institutions of higher learning commit to sustainability principles

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) was established 10 years ago, with a mission to “inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation.” In our state we have over 20 colleges and universities which are members, including the two institutions highlighted in this article.

AASHE established October as Campus Sustainability Month. Hopefully you are inspired to bring more sustainable water practices to your home and place of business. Because every month is a good month to be aware of your water use and conserve wherever possible. It does all start with you!

Drought in the City

by Lindsey Desmul, Drought Response Specialist, Northwest Regional Office

While summer is drawing to a close and the crisp, cool weather of fall is returning, we are still in the midst of the worst drought in state history. Because of the large storage areas and conservation measures taken by municipal water suppliers, it can seem like cities have an endless supply of water. The ability to turn on the tap and magically have water is a modern-day miracle most of us take for granted. But customers can feel disconnected from their water source, and this can make it hard to understand the difficulties our state is facing during this record-setting drought.

Cities such as Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma are still calling for a 10% reduction in water usage from its customers, and Seattle residents are setting a great example. They have taken the city’s call for conservation seriously and reduced water consumption to levels below average. The graph (at the end of this blog) shows Seattle’s average 7-day water consumption as of September 8 and historically.

But we all need to do more to conserve water.

Why conserve municipal water?

Did you know that only 1 percent of earth’s water supply is drinkable?

In Washington, where we are surrounded by large rivers fed by glacial ice and snow melt, water seems abundant. However, our warmer and drier winter led to a severe lack of snow melt going into rivers. Just weeks ago the entire state was classified as being in a “severe drought.”

This has impacted our state in many ways, such as limiting recreational opportunities like fishing and skiing. This not only reduces our fun but affects our state economy. More than 1 million people go fishing in Washington each year, bringing in a total of $1.1 billion annually from sport fishing alone. Likewise, winter tourism added $348 million to the state’s economy in 2009/2010, employing more than 6,000 people.

The drought is also decreasing our hydroelectric capabilities. Currently, hydroelectricity accounts for more than 60 percent of Washington’s power source! If the drought continues, dirtier and more expensive fossil-fuels will have to be used, increasing pollution (especially in larger cities) and costing each energy customer more money. Higher prices for dirtier fuel? No thanks!

In places like Everett, where Spada Lake is already showing impacts of this year’s drought, the growing stress may put municipal supplies in danger if the drought continues into next summer. Shallow domestic wells have begun to go dry in locations such as the Yakima Valley and the Startup Water District, and populations in these and other smaller communities may need to begin purchasing water from a municipal supply.

In Seattle, the municipal water system relies on water from the Cedar and Tolt River reservoirs. If we continue to experience low snowpack years, the water flowing into the reservoirs is expected to decline by 6 percent per decade during the hot summer months. That decline will be magnified by the city’s population growth, which is currently the highest it’s been since the Gold Rush! How much water is available in the municipal supply depends largely on the customers themselves and the conservation measures taken.

Start conserving water now for the future

People use more water in the summer season when gardens and grass are thirsty, but this is also the time when water conservation is most important. Outdoor water use in the summer months can be as high as 70 percent of our total water use, and up to 50 percent of that water is wasted from inefficient watering methods! Instead of struggling to keep those lawns green during the hottest months of the year, consider

Dormant lawn in August
Photo by Ecoyards

letting them go dormant. Depending on the type of grass in your yard, many dormant lawns only require ½ inch of water every two weeks to stay alive. That means that if the average American lawn was allowed to go dormant, the amount of water conserved could supply a family of 4 with drinking water for over 34 years!

This winter is expected to be warmer and drier than normal due to the lasting effects of El Niño and the infamous blob on our Pacific Ocean shores. Following last year’s winter of low snow pack, the effects of another drought could be life-altering for Washington state residents. If we all make changes now in how we use water, we can avoid the complications of another dry summer. So when you see news articles and public service announcements about water conservation in cities, pay close attention – every little bit of water saved can mean a lot for our future.

Courtesy of Seattle Public Utilities. As of Sept. 8, 2015

Water conservation blog series will help you save water

Fountains are off, trees and shrubs watered less frequently on Capitol Campus

By Curt Hart, communications director, Washington Department of Enterprise Services and Dan Partridge, communications manager, Ecology Water Resources Program

Communities across Washington state are turning to water conservation measures as our statewide drought is shaping up to be the worst drought in modern state history.

Yesterday, Everett, Seattle and Tacoma announced voluntary reductions in water use and are providing their customers with tips on how to achieve a 10 percent reduction in water use.

Beginning today to help our state residents who want to contribute to water conservation across Washington, we are beginning a weekly blog series to help answer the question, “ What can I do to save water in my home, yard and business?”

We will be offering practical advice on water conservation measures and will be looking at the lessons we all can learn from water conservation success stories across our state.

To start, we don’t have to look far for water savings right here in Olympia.

Conserving water on the Capitol Campus

After Gov. Jay Inslee declared the statewide drought emergency in May 2015, the Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES) took a lead role in conserving water on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.

DES is the state agency responsible for managing the 485-acre campus – a public resource for all state citizens – which includes the state Capitol and Supreme Court buildings, the Governor’s Mansion, about 50 other buildings and structures, four parks and Capitol Lake.

To immediately start curbing state water use, DES didn’t turn on the historic Tivoli Fountain, which we typically run from late spring through early autumn. The fountain loses about 2,000 gallons of water a day through evaporation, wind spray and leakage.

We also shut down the Du Pen fountain and a small decorative fountain behind the Governor’s Mansion. In addition, DES:

• Stopped most irrigation of the campus lawns, letting the grass go brown and dormant. We are doing limited lawn watering in areas where the vegetation shows signs of extreme heat stress to protect the public’s investment.
• Put up signs letting visitors know that the grass is golden and the fountains are off due to the drought.
• Is irrigating well-established trees and shrub beds less frequently, deeply and before 10 a.m. or after sunset when the wind is calm.
• Is inspecting, testing and repairing irrigation systems to address leaks and overspray.

Building on past conservation practices

Besides significantly reducing watering campus lawns, trees and shrubs, we are also making sure the water conservation measures that DES put in place inside all the buildings on the campus in 2007 are still in place and working as expected.

By installing low-flow plumbing fixtures – especially sinks, toilets and hot water heaters – DES has successfully reduced annual campus water use by 34 percent. In 2007, we used 44 million gallons but by 2014, the total amount had steadily dropped to 29 million gallons.

Our goal is to save another 6.5 million gallons in 2015 – a further 22 percent reduction – in response to the drought emergency.

Greener, more sustainable landscaping

In addition to the water conservation measures in the buildings on the campus, DES groundskeepers have been shifting to more environmentally-friendly care and maintenance practices designed to save water and lower operating costs while maintaining and enhancing the beauty of the Capitol grounds. DES has put in place a new set of campus landscape managing goals including:

• Integrating more native plants into campus landscapes to reduce water use. DES has planted thousands of snowberry bushes, red-flowering currants, Oregon grape and other Pacific Northwest trees and shrubs.
• Replacing annual with perennial flowers including Asiatic lilies, daylilies, coneflower and columbine.
• Eliminating the use of pesticides in targeted areas and reducing overall use across the campus.
• Improving soil quality for better plant health.
• Experimenting with different types of organic weed control methods.

Our groundskeepers are working to reduce campus-wide pesticide use by 15 percent in 2016 and are experimenting with vinegar and mineral-based herbicides to control weeds. They also have been:

• Using cardboard, paper and burlap to prevent weeds from sprouting.
• Putting down arborist wood chips instead of beauty bark because the chips release nutrients slowly to the system and absorb large amounts of water that is slowly released to the soil.
• Reusing leaves saved from the previous fall, tilling it into campus landscape beds to activate the soil microorganisms and improve the soil’s water and nutrient holding capacity, so less irrigation is needed.

DES takes its role as steward of the public’s facilities and resources – including water supplies – quite seriously. The agency’s leadership in water conservation provides a model for government agencies and businesses committed to saving water – a resource even more precious in our statewide drought.

Other resources for saving water:

• Ecology’s “Water conservation: It all starts with you” website. 
• Cliff Mass' blog on how to reduce water waste from lawn sprinklers.

The right plants and wise water use make for a happy Mother's Day

by Dan Partridge, Water Resources communications manager


Photo courtesy of  Cascade Compost

If you’re thinking about treating mom to a plant for her yard or garden or a nice sapling for Mother’s Day, you may have concerns about the expanding drought in Washington state.

While we all should regularly practice water conservation, you can pick a gift for mom this year from a wide selection of drought tolerant plants and trees. 

Homeowners in most areas of the state won’t be subject to water restrictions this year because the majority of public water systems are not reporting problems currently and not anticipating problems with their water supplies.

Nevertheless, we can all benefit from some practical advice about wise water use. The Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association recommends that mom use compost in her garden space and apply a top dressing of mulch (with your help, of course!). Compost and mulch reduces water needs, is attractive and over time will improve soil structure.

Hardy Geranium Cransebill

Richie Steffen, Great Plant Picks

The Great Plant Picks Web site offers a plethora of drought tolerant plants for the Northwest, a list of 891 perennials, shrubs and trees.

Mom should use only as much water as needed for plants and be sure to group plants together with similar watering needs. If she has an irrigation system, some yearly maintenance will ensure it is operating efficiently and not wasting water.

Planting trees, flowers and shrubs not only increases the value of your mom’s property but benefits the environment by:

• Reducing stormwater runoff and suspended solids in surface water runoff.
• Removing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter from the air.

In fact, one tree can remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually, equaling 11,000 miles of car emissions!

While water restrictions may occur in some areas with the hot, dry summer forecast in most of Washington, your mom doesn’t have to give up on the plants she loves. Contact your local landscape nursery or landscape professional on plant selections that thrive with minimal watering needs and offer water wise solutions at:

•  Washington State University Extension Service  
•               GardenWashington

Plenty of snowpack, healthy stream flows: Why are we still worried about drought?

By Dan Partridge, communications, manager, Water Resources Program

Snowpack is 100 percent of normal in Washington state and spring runoff is providing our rivers and streams with healthy stream flows this spring. So why worry about drought?

 Blame it on a "child."

The National Weather Service predicts there is a 65 percent probability this year of an El Nino developing off Washington’s coast. Above average sea surface temperatures are occurring now off the west coast of South America and these conditions are expected to spread north, bringing warmer, drier weather this fall to the Pacific Northwest. Wetter weather could follow in the spring of 2015 but in rain, not snowfall that creates a reservoir of water supply in the form of snowpack.

The state Water Supply Availability Committee (WSAC) learned of these conditions at its meeting May 16th chaired by the Department of Ecology, the lead agency for drought response in Washington state.

WSAC is comprised of state and federal agencies that monitor snowpack and water supply conditions and advises Gov. Inslee on the need for a drought declaration when dry conditions persist anywhere in Washington.

Some members of WSAC may have assumed the May 16th meeting would be their last – until they learned about the approaching El Nino and another disturbing prediction. Computer models show El Nino will most likely be preceded by a warmer-than- usual summer which will increase water demand for crops. With these looming threats to water supplies, WSAC has agreed to meet again in August.

The USDA has already made a drought declaration in Washington state designating two counties – Benton and Franklin – as “primary natural disaster areas” due to drought.

This designation is based on soil moisture and precipitation measurements over eight weeks and doesn’t mean much unless you’re a dryland farmer. If you don’t have access to irrigation and depend on rainfall to water your crops, then you may be in trouble and eligible for low interest loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency .

Ecology determines drought differently from the USDA. In fact, Washington state has a statutory definition of drought and two conditions must be met before Ecology recommends that the governor declare a drought emergency:

   — An area is experiencing or projected to experience a water supply below 75 percent of normal, and

   — Water users within those areas will likely incur undue hardships as a result of the shortage.

Ecology and WSAC will continue to monitor water supplies in Washington state this summer and fall and if necessary Ecology will seek drought relief funds from the Legislature to provide loans and grants for drilling emergency wells or leasing water rights for stream flows.

 The latest numbers from the U.S. National Drought Monitor show half of the U.S. experiencing a drought. Washington has so far avoided this fate but Jeff Marti, Ecology’s drought response coordinator, says the Pacific Northwest may be facing a “doozy” of an El Nino. If that’s the case, the work that Ecology and WSAC do this summer and fall will guide the drought relief preparations needed to help our people, farms and economy weather the storm.

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Moses Lake Industries saves millions by shrinking waste: A P2 success story

By Erin Jeffries, Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist, Hazardous Waste & Toxics Reduction Program

Participating in the Department of Ecology's Pollution Prevention (P2) Program, Moses Lake Industries, Inc. (MLI) achieved several million dollars in savings over the last five years through waste reduction, on-site treatment, recycling, water reuse, and efficiency improvements.

The company

Moses Lake Industries, Inc.

Named after its hometown of Moses Lake, Washington, MLI specializes in producing ultra-high purity chemicals for the semiconductor industry. MLI products are used worldwide and have been recognized for their high quality. The company has received multiple product quality awards from customers for ten years in a row.

How they achieved results

In 2009, MLI began to treat their corrosive hazardous waste following the Department of Ecology’s Treatment by Generator guidance. Neutralizing the waste and evaporating its residue reduces the dangerous waste’s volume by up to 90 percent. Treating waste on site prevents potential pollution off site.

MLI also conserves water. They reuse plastic totes and drums returned from their customers, which are rinsed with high purity water before refilling. Rinsing generates a significant amount of corrosive wastewater. The company started a water reduction program that eliminates half of the dangerous wastewater.

Methanol is a byproduct of their manufacturing process. They use the methanol as fuel for their process boiler, reducing the need to purchase propane fuel. Surplus methanol has also been sold for use as a source material in the biodiesel industry.

In 2010, MLI jump-started their recycling program and was able to redirect 20 percent of solid waste to recycling. In the past three years, they have been able to recycle 50 percent of solid waste. They recycle a wide variety of products, including steel, aluminum, copper, plastic (like drums, totes, pallets, and sample bottles), paper, cardboard, e-waste, batteries, and bulbs.

In 2013, the company launched a pilot program to study the feasibility of using products that do not meet their high purity standard. The study explored possibly manufacturing copper oxide, a dry raw material used in many industries. The pilot was successful, and the results will be used to determine the economic benefit of a full-scale operation. One significant potential is the process could be used to turn waste materials into a marketable copper oxide product.

Less dangerous waste means less risk for workers

Keeping dangerous waste around means workers could be exposed to harmful chemicals. MLI is dedicated to plant safety, so they set annual goals for waste reduction, energy efficiency, and air quality.

Certain businesses are required to prepare Pollution Prevention Plans for voluntarily reducing their hazardous substance use and dangerous waste generation. MLI sets an excellent example for other businesses by following through with their pollution prevention opportunities.

Ecology recognized MLI’s efforts in 2003 with an Environmental Excellence Award for reducing toxic air pollution.

Managing dangerous waste is expensive. Moses Lake Industries’ culture of waste reduction saved them millions. Is your business next?

Help is available! To consult with Ecology’s Pollution Prevention experts about how to reduce waste at your Washington business, contact your regional office.

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It's been hot and dry but it hasn't been a drought

Every evening as I turn up the hill on the road to my home in Auburn, I’m restricted to one lane by orange construction cones because the closed-off lane is occupied by a big blinking electronic sign. It asks only one thing of me and other Auburn residents: “Please conserve water.”

This is the first time in 14 years I’ve lived in the Lakeland Hills area of Auburn, that the city has requested voluntarily restrictions on water use. It’s not a problem for me. The brown lawn along my driveway shows the city that we’re not big consumers of water in my household, even during the horrendous heat wave of late July.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is assuring us that despite the hot temperatures and drier than normal conditions, that almost all water supplies are in good shape around the state. The city of Auburn has been concerned because city wells were in full production to keep pace with rising water demand and those wells were approaching capacity.

As temperatures start to cool down a bit, however, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Auburn return that sign to storage.

The governor is getting ongoing advice from a couple of committees on if or when she may need to declare a drought emergency. Without a doubt it’s dry: more than 30 counties in the state have a high or very high fire danger.

But there is no water emergency in the state yet, although the Department of Ecology is watching two areas closely where regional drought declarations may be in order: the North Central Cascades and the Olympic Peninsula. Both areas saw snowpack at 65-70% of normal and projections of summer runoff are down at that level as well.

Two criteria must exist for the governor to consider a drought declaration: 1) Water supply (be it snowpack or precipitation or both) must be below 75% of normal and 2) water users must be experiencing “undue hardship.” The law doesn’t define undue hardship but you know what it is if your well has gone dry.

Legislative action taken to whittle down a $4.9 billion state budget deficit has meant Ecology has lost the authority to allocate drought relief funds. Money from those accounts has been used in previous years (in the drought of 2005, for example) to help homeowners drill their dry wells deeper or add to a city’s water storage capacity.

A drought declaration, however, may help bring federal financial relief to those regions that need it. In the meantime, Ecology is keeping the governor apprised of any trouble in Washington water supplies. We’ll be monitoring water supplies through the winter because the National Weather Service predicts that El Nino conditions will continue to develop and last through the winter of 2009-2010.

To find out more about what is expected from El Nino this winter, check out this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.html

Climatologists note in the past (such as in 2005) that there has been a correlation between El Nino and warmer and drier conditions. So this may mean below normal snowpack and stream flows next spring and the drought conditions that may accompany them could make this summer seem like a walk in a (water) park.

A bicyclist’s view of wasted water

As a bike rider, I see it every day. Sprinklers on, splattering or draining all over the asphalt, wasting a precious natural resource and washing it down into storm drains, contributing to stormwater runoff problems.

Many folks don’t realize that water going into storm drains carries oil and pollutants from the street, plus fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides from our lawns. This water is untreated – it goes directly into Puget Sound. And, into the animals and plants that live there.

Besides being a hazard to the environment, this wasteful water use adds up to added expense for businesses and homeowners with little return on investment.

Every morning and often in the evening, while I am biking to and from work, I see puddles of water in the streets. Often, I have to dodge sprinklers shooting water onto the bike path. And, the next day it's the same thing. Many times in the same areas, as you can see in this photo, taken the day after the top photo.

Sprinklers are often programmed to water even in the rain! It'd be laughable if it weren't so sad.

Seeing this makes me realize just how important Ecology is. Educating, spreading the word, and being good examples will hopefully keep our communities’ water a sustainable resource long into the future.

FRONTLINE did a report on runoff. Here’s a link that has lots of that information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/index.html . And Ecology’s Washington Waters — Ours to Protect website has helpful information on how each of us can do our part to prevent stormwater pollution.

It’s time to plan for saving water in the yard

Twenty-nine days, and counting, in a record-tying dry spell for Western Washington. The last time this happened was in 1982. That is the same year Minh Thai won the first ever Rubik’s Cube World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. What does that have to do with saving water, well nothing really, but since I’ve got your attention…

Recent warm weather could mean that urban water users are cranking up the times on their sprinkler systems. As we head into peak irrigation season for both Eastern and Western Washington, let’s think about being Water Smart. About half of the water we use on lawns and gardens goes to waste because of evaporation, poor timing, and bad system design. We can do better than that.

Practicing outdoor water conservation is easier than you think. Simple changes like watering during the early morning or late evening can reduce evaporation. That way your plants get the water all to themselves.

When it comes to timers, the motto is NOT “set it and forget it.” Adjust timing every month to allow for seasonal changes. Some water providers have sprinkler calculators to help guide homeowners.

If you are not sure about doing it yourself find a WaterSense Irrigation Partner, near you. Partnering irrigation professionals can install, audit or upgrade your system to save up to 9,000 gallons each year. That’s a lot of water! Better yet, that could be 9,000 gallons of water you aren’t paying for.

The bottom line is water conservation is good for everyone. By practicing conservation you are helping to secure a consistent water supply for Washington’s future. Who knows, maybe one day there will be a world championship for water savers.

What have you done to save water? Planted drought tolerant or native plants, removed grass, or installed a rain click? Tell us.


A few interesting links
Interested in caring for your lawn and garden the environmentally friendly way? Check out our Natural Yard Care brochure for more tips and tools.

Be prepared. Next month is Smart Irrigation Month.

Test your WaterSense with EPA’s quiz.