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Palouse area water usage lowest since 2010

The 4-0 Ranch Wildlife Area bordering the Grande Ronde River includes 10,502 acres in Asotin County acquired over decade by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. (Justin Haug / Associated Press)
By Garrett Cabeza Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Pullman, Moscow and the Palouse’s two universities pumped 2.32 billion gallons of water in 2018, the second lowest usage figure since a groundwater management plan was enacted in 1992, according to data released Tuesday by the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee.

Last year’s mark trails only the 2.25 billion gallons pumped in 2010.

When including the city of Palouse to the other four reporting entities, they combined to pump 2.37 billion gallons in 2018 compared to 2.44 billion gallons in 2017 – a 3.1 percent decrease. The entities used 2.4 billion gallons in 2016.

PBAC Executive Manager Korey Woodley said the 3 percent decrease in 2018 from 2017 shows the area is moving in the right direction from a water conservation standpoint.

Pullman, Moscow, Washington State University and Palouse each pumped less water in 2018; however, the University of Idaho saw a 1.3 percent increase. Woodley said construction at the university helped contribute to the increase.

WSU led the way with a 9.3 percent decline in water usage; then Palouse with a 3.7 percent decrease; Moscow with a 3.1 percent decline; and Pullman with a 0.3 percent drop.

Pullman used the most water last year, pumping 927 million gallons (39 percent of the total); Moscow used 797 million gallons (34 percent); WSU pumped 453 million gallons (19 percent); 141 million gallons (6 percent) of UI domestic water was used; and Palouse pumped 50 million gallons (2 percent).

The pumping total has decreased 13.6 percent since 1992. UI pumping has dropped 62 percent, Palouse 40 percent, WSU 25 percent and Moscow 4 percent, while Pullman has increased 8 percent.

Woodley attributed the 3 percent overall water usage decline to residents taking advantage of city conservation programs, such as lawn removal in favor of wisescape landscaping, and water infrastructure updates.

“They’ve made a big difference,” Woodley said. “Their programs have greatly increased, and the more they use those programs, the more money we can get into those programs. So they’re really doing us a favor by using those programs because then we can put more money into those programs and then expand those even further.”

Woodley said residents have been working to conserve water without a “major stick approach,” or hard policy to force people to save.

She said a ripple effect has taken place, in which people will notice their neighbors ripping out their lawn and placing attractive, drought-resistant plantings instead.

The lower Grande Ronde and upper Wanapum aquifers are the two water sources used by Palouse-area residents, and both have been declining for years. The Grande Ronde had declined at a rate of 0.9 to 1.5 feet per year for 70 years or more until 2006, according to PBAC’s 2017 Water Use Report. The past 12 years, the average annual rate of decline has decreased to 0.72 feet per year.

Woodley said there are slight increases some years.

“But even with the effort and the amount of decreases (in water usage) we’ve had, we still feel a lot of urgency at looking at alternative water resource plans,” Woodley said.

She said PBAC is looking at feasibility studies on the four potential water supply alternatives identified for the region. A PBAC survey will take place this spring to gather community input and help determine which alternatives to pursue.