Even the Emerald City must learn to conserve water

Even the Emerald City must learn to conserve water
Although snow is abundant this year in the Cascades, authorities say it's time to start planning for the future

By ROBERT McCLURE
P-I REPORTER

Behind a fence erected to keep intruders out of the mountainous country that disgorges Seattle's drinking water sits a Seattle Public Utilities building so regularly bathed by so much rain that the moss grows 3 inches thick on a log outside. The moss is so thick that small shrubs have rooted in it.

By this time of year, the ground at the utilities work station about 30 miles up Interstate 90 from the city is soggy.


		Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
	Don Jolk, watershed inspector with Seattle Public Utilities, jumps back to his snowshoes after taking readings, such as snow depth and moisture content, from instruments in the tower at right.

And yet, in the building's men's room are waterless urinals and water-saving toilets.

"Do your part," says a sign on the wall. "Be water smart."

This is what it's coming to as the climate warms and water supplies grow less predictable: Even in a city whose name is practically synonymous with "rain" in the American psyche, whose surrounding forests exude lushness, water conservation is going to have be a part of life.

That's what city officials and climate scientists say, anyway.

"As the average gets lower and lower, (today's) average looks better and better," said Richard Palmer of the Climate Impacts Group. "It's a very serious concern."

City officials emphasize that they don't think this should have to inconvenience Seattleites much, even with the population growth that's expected.

"This isn't about taking less showers," said David Hilmoe, the city's drinking-water director. "It about how you can achieve the same objectives, achieve the same quality of life, but use less water."

Seattle Public Utilities' waterlogged Cedar Falls work station was the home base over the past two weeks as a two-person team was ferried by helicopter to surrounding hillsides to measure the snowpack. Tuesday marked the last time the team will do that this year, and it's a crucial measurement because that snow is like water in the bank.

That snow melts slowly over the spring and summer, the melted snow gurgling downhill to the Chester Morse Reservoir. From there it goes on to produce two-thirds of Seattle's municipal water supply, with the remainder coming from the Tolt River to the north.

This time of year, the mocha-colored edges of the reservoir are exposed. But as the snow melts in coming weeks and months, they will be covered by the purple-blue waters of the reservoir.

The question is: How often can city officials count on that in the years to come? Just last year, at this time, city officials were watching the hillsides nervously. Where watershed inspectors Lee Ambler and Don Jolk recently measured 105 inches of snow atop Rex Basin, they found 26 inches at this time last year. (Fortunately, a relatively rainy spring averted water restrictions in 2005.)

This juxtaposition of a very dry year with a very wet one is emblematic of the kinds of topsy-turvy weather extremes scientists believe we're likely to face as the globe warms.

As far as Seattle Public Utilities officials are concerned, "Global warming is right here on the ground now," agency spokesman Andy Ryan said.

And they've been planning for it. In fact, Seattle appears to be well ahead of the curve on that measure. Last fall, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research called Seattle a "pioneer" in that respect.

So, all is well, right? Not entirely.

chart

An analysis by the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington showed a variety of scenarios, all of which reduce the city's water supplies as the decades drag on.

The city can now produce about 171 million gallons of water a day, yet uses only about 145 million gallons, as an annual average. But averages can be misleading.

"What have historically been the driest years are going to be more common," said Matthew Wiley of the UW's water resources management and drought planning group. "You'll have your wet years and your dry years -- it's just that what we have considered anomalously dry years will be more common."

The UW analysis predicts that the water supply will shrink each decade by a rate equivalent to 6 million gallons a day -- a 3.5 percent-per-decade decrease.

The city already has been reducing its per-person water use by 1 percent per year, taking steps such as subsidizing efficient appliances and encouraging people to change their thinking about such activities as lawn watering. It's costing $3 million a year.

"We're showering less and watering our lawns less," said Julie Burman, a Seattle Public Utilities planner. Utilities officials say they don't expect this to be difficult for the average person. You're most likely to be affected if you're replacing a household appliance -- and then it's a good thing, because you're able to collect a rebate if you buy an enviro-friendly model.

City officials are still busily searching out where else they might be able to conserve water. The city already has priced water so that the guzzlers pay a premium because, Hilmoe said, "sending a price signal is a piece of this."

This summer city, officials are scheduled to release an outline of their long-term plans for meeting the city's water needs. They say they feel confident they can do that through 2060.

A key part of Seattle's plans focuses on attempts by suburban utilities to start getting their water elsewhere. The Cascade Water Alliance, an association of eight suburban water utilities, is looking to tap Lake Tapps in Pierce County and possibly other sources.


		Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
	Watershed inspector Don Jolk takes a core sample of the snowpack at Rex Basin, as inspector Lee Ambler jots down the measurements.

But that effort is just getting under way and could take decades. And even with those utilities' demands gone, there will still be this climate-change wild card that worries Seattle utilities officials.

"What if we're really off?" planner Burman asked.

The plan would allow city officials to intensify their conservation efforts -- but that comes at a price. Burman said the 2010- 30 plan could allow the conservation of up to 34 million gallons a day, but that would cost about $16 million a year. In that scenario, instead of handing consumers rebates for water-efficient appliances, the city would pay for them entirely.

But Seattle officials hope to get by much more cheaply, with a more modest $1.3 million-a-year program similar in scope to current efforts.

"It's low-cost insurance against climate change," Burman said. "It's a low-cost way to manage our water resource, and it's a low-cost way for consumers to manage their own bills."

HELP FOR CONSUMERS

Seattle Public Utilities offers rebates of $25 to $100 for consumers who buy energy- or water-saving clothes washers. For more information call 206-684-SAVE or 206-684-7283. Learn ways to conserve water at www.savingwater.org.

P-I reporter Robert McClure can be reached at 206-448-8092 or robertmcclure@seattlepi.com.

Soundoff (Read 5 comments)
Should the city continue to spend money to on conserving water when computer models show the city likely to have enough water for the foreseeable future?

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