The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Water intake plant

improvements to begin

To The Eagle:

As readers will no doubt have already read elsewhere in The Eagle, the Town of Cathlamet’s Contractor will be beginning work on improving the water intake to our drinking water plant. This is exciting news!

The reason for this work is to allow the plant to pull more water out of the river and to get closer to the volume of water that the plant itself can treat. Assuming all goes well, we should be allowed by regulators to provide water to as many customers as want our water.

All this good news does not mean that people should not conserve water. Here is how to do that easily: firstly make sure that you don’t have a leak; most folks imagine leaks to be gushing, but in reality a steady drip uses a lot of water—and toilets in particular are often the culprit by flowing from tank to bowl almost continually (they should not do that!)

Next look at use of water. In the summer please don’t hose down your driveway. Put that pressure washer away until November. Water your garden with the hose but don’t leave it running and avoid using sprinklers. (Please do feel guilty if there is run off from yard to road or sidewalk.) Water by hand in the evening or morning—definitely not through the entire night.

Take a shower, not a bath. Use your dishwasher over handwashing. Take the kids/grandkids to the Cathlamet pool rather than fill the one in the yard. Turn the water off after you wet your toothbrush. Flush your toilet less. Wash clothes in full loads only. Replace your 1970’s clothes washer with a new efficient unit. Maybe spoil yourself with a new toilet fixture.

Zealots will catch rain, they will capture and use gray water, they will have zeriscaped yards, and they probably will tell you about it if you ask. Zealots, tell me too please!

Finally do you have to? Do you have to wash your car? Consider the gas station car wash please. Do you have to water your lawn? Likely it will come back as soon as it rains. Do you have to take a 20 minute shower?

The business man in me says “use more water my customers,” but the consumer says “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Use less water and save that penny!

Sincerely,

Duncan Cruickshank

Cathlamet Public Works Director