West Plains cities feel drought impact

Of all the events taking place in 2015, perhaps the one affecting West Plains residents the most was water, one of the reasons it was voted one of the Cheney Free Press's No. 1 Top-10 Stories of 2015

More specifically, the strain on local water systems due to a number of factors depending on location but mostly from a two-year-long drought affecting most of the state. Low snow packs contributed to a Department of Ecology finding that 48 of 72 watersheds in the state had water supplies 75 percent of normal or below, leading to Gov. Jay Inslee's declaration of a drought emergency in May.

But over the past several years, the weather pattern also generated hotter, drier conditions beginning in mid to late spring, instead of late summer. Those conditions were also lasting longer, often into mid-October.

The result was an earlier and longer irrigation season, which forced cities to either put more municipal wells on line or tap into local water intertie networks with the city of Spokane, which is served by a larger and more easily recharged aquifer than on the West Plains. Airway Heights, Cheney and Medical Lake officials also took water conservation steps by instituting regulations limiting when consumers could water and how much could be used.

Cheney, which instituted water regulations in 2014, and Medical Lake had their restrictions in place by early June. Airway Heights followed in July.

Even with restrictions in place earlier than normal, Cheney was forced to sharply curtail water usage for several weeks in late June. By May 31, all of Cheney's four active reservoirs, holding over 4 million gallons, were at capacity. Shortly thereafter, the system began taking hits.

Between June 4-5 and June 8-9 the levels in the reservoirs plunged from just below 24 feet to about 16.5 feet, thanks mainly to unusually hot weather. The next six days the levels stayed between peaks of 18 feet and valleys of 15-16 feet as usage fluctuated.

Around June 16, the city's water system was hit again, the largest being the filling of the city's swimming pool for its June 18 opening. Reservoir levels dropped from around 17 feet to about 12 feet, but rose to a 16.47-foot peak by June 21.

But with expected temperatures ranging into the high-90s and even triple digits approaching, city water users upped their irrigation practices to fortify their lawns. And the reservoir levels plunged again, reaching a low of around 10 feet sometime between June 25 and June 26.

Cheney water resource manager Dan Ferguson said the last time levels were that low was in August 2014 when reservoirs drained to about seven feet due to extensive hot weather and a major thunderstorm knocking out power to two of the city's wells. The city also had a third well off line for rehabilitation work.

"What it came down to was we were putting out 10 percent more than we could pump. And, we were already trending down. It just became too much for us to sustain," Ferguson said in a July 2 Cheney Free Press story.

To restore reservoir levels, not only for drinking but also to maintain water pressure needed for state-mandated firefighting requirements, Cheney instituted more drastic "condition red" water limitation measures. The restrictions worked as residents adhering to watering schedules helped restore reservoirs to a safe 29 feet by the first week in July, leading the city to relax restrictions to the new normal "yellow condition" for the rest of the summer.

Even with a winter that has so far provided a better snow pack in the mountains and locally than the past several years, officials at all three West Plains cities have begun discussions on measures they can take to ensure water is in adequate supply in the future.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.