Rainfall Key Even to Island Communities’ Water Supply (KitsapSun)

Jan.24, 2009 in Prop Management, Public Works, Water Conservation, Water Crisis, Water Industry, Water Management

(Jan. 23, 2009, The Kitsap Sun)

It’s a fact that Bainbridge Island has a limited water supply — limited ultimately by the amount of rain that falls and by how much of this rainfall drains into the ground.

Reporter Tristan Baurick wrote an interesting story for today’s Kitsap Sun about a decline in water levels in some public and private wells on the island. The story was based on a new report, commissioned by the city and researched by Aspect Consulting.

I don’t believe the findings come as much of a shock to water experts who watch these issues, but it may be a call to action for everyone else.

The entire Kitsap Peninsula, like Bainbridge Island, is almost entirely reliant on rainfall. We don’t have a mountain here with a pile of snow to feed our streams. While Bremerton operates a dam on the Union River, the dam’s supply is essentially a set annual amount.

For much of our Puget Sound region, the story is only slightly less urgent, while some island communities are facing severe shortages. Rainfall is the key, and most of the region is growing more dependent on groundwater as the years go by.

For me, the Bainbridge report reminds us that we all need to pay closer attention to our local groundwater supplies, and we need our local governments to help us understand our local problems.

Specifically, we need to:

Develop an ongoing water budget for each of our aquifers (measuring rainfall against usage) to help us respond to changes over time,

Continue to improve on our efficient use of water, so that we can do more with our limited water supplies,

Protect our aquifer recharge areas, which means greater use of low-impact development across the entire Kitsap Peninsula and many other areas of Puget Sound,

Move the water from wells in outlying areas to the population centers where that can be done without affecting streamflows needed for fish,

Keep everyone informed about the water budgets, conservation efforts and quality of fish habitat,

And issue a call for stepped-up conservation efforts in low-rainfall years to maintain underground water supplies.

(Original Article Here)