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

The public was invited to comment during a water use efficiency hearing at Tuesday’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting, but only one member of the public was in attendance.

The PUD’s goals are to reduce the amount of water purchased from the Town of Cathlamet per capita by seven percent within six years, and to reduce water production per capita on the Western Wahkiakum Water system by 10 percent in the next six years.

They plan to do this by educating consumers, calibrating or replacing meters that are over 10 years old, notifying customers of spikes in consumption and more.

“I think you are on the right track,” Dick Swart, a councilmember of the Town of Cathlamet said.

The hearing closed and later the commissioners approved the resolution to establish the water use efficiency goals for both water systems.

Talk turned to the intertie project which will link Wahkiakum and Pacific County electrical systems, providing stability for both.

General Manager Dave Tramblie is waiting on a permit to install poles but is ready to move forward, with or without.

“We need to build this intertie regardless,” Tramblie said. “If the poles are not allowed, we’ll have to do it another way. Unless you have serious concerns, I’m probably going to pull the trigger on getting the underground for the Deep River section of it.”

“I would like to be online this winter,” he said.

When prompted, Tramblie said that he believed that the project would take six weeks to complete. Taking that into account, Commissioner Dennis Reid estimated that the cost for the project would be around a quarter of a million dollars to complete.

“But,” Reid said, “it’s a good project.”

The Deep River section of the intertie project will require excavation and the PUD may consider contracting another outfit to complete that work.

Because of the potential for flooding in the area, Tramblie said they would be imbedding the conductor in sand instead of using conduit. Using conduit would require the installation of switch cabinets, which would not only be more expensive but could also leave the PUD open to problems during severe flooding.

Commissioner Gene Healy remarked on a recent push to address lead testing in water systems.

“It sounds like the initial pressure is going to be on schools and child care,” he said. “I just wanted to propose that we support those kinds of efforts. I think that drinking water is the most important thing that we do.”

Tramblie said that he believed that the water systems were “pretty well lead free as far as service lines and any other distribution pipes we have in our system.”

“We’re required to do lead and copper sampling on the Western Wahkiakum Water System once every three years,” Tramblie said. “Every test has fallen below any issues.”

Commissioner Bob Jungers and Healy asked whether it would be possible to provide testing and results for customers. The PUD will consider the matter.

Tramblie shared that a leak had been found in the Western Wahkiakum Water System on Malone Creek Road. The leak is losing approximately 1,500 gallons a day. Tramblie plans to install a six inch valve, but is not yet certain whether to shut off the water entirely or install it under pressure.

“I’m hesitant to shut the water off for fear of negative pressure in the system,” Tramblie said, “for fear of contamination. If we are able to install this valve under pressure for a reasonable amount of money, I think that’s the way to go.”

“The money isn’t there,” Reid said. “That’s not what the system needed.”

Tramblie assured him that they would figure something out.

“On the bright side,” he noted, “we found the leak. And if we are able to install the valve, we’ll have more flexibility in the system.”

Because of a scheduling conflict, the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 18, at 8:30 a.m., on on the board’s regular Tuesday.