[Vision2020] Moscow-Pullman Aquifer

[Dale Courtney]

Tom/Bill,

Some quick questions/comments:

1. Who owns the aquifer? Is the aquifer a "common good" (where anyone can
drill to it and pump out of it)? Or do only Moscow and Pullman have access
to it? This matters, because even if you raise the price of water to
$50/gal, people will drill their own wells to get to the water (or already
have wells to the aquifer).

2. I investigated the use of gray water, and I'm all for it. However, until
we make the laws so that it is cheaper to use gray water than it is to use
city water, no one will have any incentive to do so. For instance, to use
gray water in Moscow requires a complete, separate underground gray water
system. I mean, it is seriously ridiculous that I can run a hose to my tub
and siphon the water to the garden, but I cannot legally install a system to
do the same thing! The cost to install one is so exorbitant that the payback
is on the order of 10-15 years. If you *really* want to encourage the use of
gray water, I would recommend some economic incentive to do so (changing the
laws that ham-string those who want to; tax refunds; etc).

3. Finally, if you want to control the usage of an item, you need to control
the cost of that item. But as long as people can get to the aquifer
elsewhere (or others already have access to the aquifer to pump it "free"),
you will only penalize those who live in the city.

Best,
Dale