[Vision2020] our aquifer

[Bill London]

    Moscow has another chance to live up to its responsibilities.  I hope
the City Council finds the courage to make the necessary hard choices.
    It's easy to dismiss the fact that we are mining the water in our
aquifer (dropping the water level an astounding 18 inches annually).  After
all we can't see the aquifer.  And there is still water in it.
    It's also easy to ignore the fact that of the major players here on the
Palouse (both universities and the cities of Pullman and Moscow) only Moscow
has continued to exceed its pumping targets.  Moscow is the only one to
violate the existing agreement by sucking more and more water from the
aquifer.
    The time has come to stop ignoring this problem.  Moscow is violating
state law with its continuing water mining.  The Council has continued to
welcome more and more new homes with no controls on water usage.  It's time
for the Council to make the decisions that will effectively limit that
extravagence.
    Whatever sacrifices we make individually are irrelevant if the rules set
by the city encourage wasting of water.
    An article in today's (Wed June 11) Lewiston Tribune, page 4A, reminds
us that other communities are facing these same issues--and setting limits
on their own water use.  In the Palm Springs area, landscaping ordinances
require cuts of 25% in water use and rates are increasing to meet the
targets those communities have set to control their water wasting.
    It's time for the Council to do the right thing.
BL