Finding middle ground isn't always easy, as demonstrated by the sour negotiations between Wahkiakum PUD and the Town of Cathlamet over the contract for sale of water for the Puget Island Water System.

The town wants to amend the contract, which can be opened every five years, to include costs not covered in the pact. These include a share of capital improvement costs. The negotiations have drug out 19 months, apparently because the PUD and town can't agree on what costs and numbers to consider.

Now, we're at the point where PUD commissioners are starting to consider finding a new source of water.

Puget Island residents need to pay attention to this. A new water plant could cost as much as $6 million, and even with grants and low interest loans, they would have a hefty impact on water rates.

Town officials feel pressured by the state Department of Health (DOH) which wants them to update their six-year water plan. The town is looking at some major expenditures for the water system. The intake in the Elochoman River needs work estimated at a cost of $1 million or more, and, if the town is going to supply the Island in the future, the DOH wants the town to find a second source of water for the system.

Under the current contract, Island customers wouldn't share in the expense of those projects.

There is also concern that without an additional source for the town system, the DOH will place limits on water production that would limit new connections to the system.

Many of these and other points are covered in letters to the editor in this week's edition. For example, former PUD Commissioner Larry Reese, who maintains a residence on the Island, knows what he's talking about. Council Member Dick Swart, a former Cathlamet mayor, also outlines concerns.

As reported in last week's Eagle, negotiations have become acrimonious. Mayor George Wehrfritz has offered to withdraw if PUD Commissioner Bob Jungers will follow suit. That's a good idea.

The negotiations need to progress, not become a spectator sport.

And if there isn't going to be a quick resolution, let the two parties find a mediator. This isn't a time for showing who can be the better wheeler and dealer, it's a time for thinking of the best long-term interest of all customers of the Cathlamet water system.