Former mayor offers two options for water

To the Editor:

Cathlamet’s Town Council made the right decision when it opted to begin the process of replacing the intake at the water plant. Nonetheless, I fear this might not dissuade the Department of Health from limiting the number of new connections. The DOH is pushing not just for system improvements, but for the town and the PUD to resolve their longstanding contract dispute.

That will happen in one of two ways: the PUD will agree to a deal that adequately compensates the town for its water, or opt instead to build its own water plant to serve the island once the existing supply contract with the town expires in 2038. As the PUD mulls its options, the town should consider the following two measures to improve the water system:

1) Request that the PUD build its own reservoir (storage tank) on Puget Island. Adding a million gallons of additional storage would assuage the DOH, cost the town nothing and serve only Puget Island water customers. Should the PUD opt to build its own system, they’d need storage anyway, and if they go that route the town won’t need three reservoirs.

2) Request that the town’s engineering firm (Gray and Osborne) desist from working for the PUD on the Puget Island Water System. Today G&O advises both entities, but as the nitty gritty of cost-sharing for system improvements begins, we shouldn’t expect them to advise the town on how best to position itself financially vis-à-vis the PUD. Given the acrimony surrounding the water dispute (think divorce of a long-married couple) both entities using the same engineering firm to guide them on technical matters with large financial ramifications is a conflict of interest. The town will get better advice if its engineers don’t also work for the folks sitting across the negotiating table.

Water customers on the Cathlamet side of the bridge should monitor the situation closely. Undertaking all the system improvements outlined in the new water plan could easily cost as much as the new sewer plant – and cause town water rates to soar. Pushing the PUD to pay its fair share or leave the system in 2038 is the best way to control costs.

George Wehrfritz

Cathlamet