The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee will present their Palouse Groundwater Basin Water Supply Alternatives Report, and discuss the best option for alternative water sources today during the Pullman City Council meeting.
Matt Young, communications coordinator for the City of Pullman, said though it doesn’t look like the council will make any decisions now, the committee will recommend solutions and discuss how to apply the report to future progress in the area.
The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, or PBAC, was enacted in 1992 to implement the Palouse Basin Groundwater Management Plan, along with providing funding of groundwater system research, monitoring pumping and groundwater levels and educating the public. Mark Storey, a member of PBAC, said their goal is to make sure the Palouse has a long-term, reliable water supply for the region in urban and rural areas.
PBAC has studied numerous potential water supply alternatives since it was founded. Over several decades, the committee has studied the groundwater aquifer and found its been declining continuously since pumping started more than 100 years ago, Storey said. He added that about 10 years ago, PBAC transitioned from studying the aquifer to also looking for practical options for a reliable water source.
The committee commissioned Alta Science & Engineering Inc. in 2020 to look at alternatives to the water supply besides mining the aquifer, as well as revise four water supply alternatives PBAC created. Alta presented a draft of their findings at a PBAC Workshop this July. Storey said the 2020 commissioned report analyzed the water supply alternatives’ viability, cost and risks.
Storey said the committee is trying to find other ways to augment the water supply so the Palouse isn’t pumping as much from the groundwater aquifer. He added PBAC is also trying to make a lighter footprint on the aquifer and have other ways to develop water for the citizens in the area.
In Alta’s findings, they recommended diverting water eight months out of the year from the South Fork of the Palouse River in Pullman, and diverting water four months out of the year from Moscow’s Paradise Creek, according to past Daily News reporting. This option is the least expensive capital cost, estimated to be around $73 million.
Other alternatives include diverting water from the Snake River to pipelines through Pullman and Moscow; drawing water from the South Fork of the Palouse River in Pullman and Flannigan Creek in Moscow; and water conservation.
PBAC will discuss its four alternatives for water sources as well as synthesize the report in Tuesday’s meeting. The committee is looking for public feedback and is encouraging public input while moving forward. The meeting is at 7 p.m. today in the City Hall council chambers in Pullman.
