Water rules tightening in Moses Lake
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 2 months AGO
From left, Moses Lake Mayor Don Myers and City Council members David Skaug and David Eck discuss water restrictions at the Moses Lake City Council meeting Tuesday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 29, 2023 6:08 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake city Council voted to make some changes to the city’s water conservation ordinance at its Tuesday meeting.
Under the ordinance passed at the meeting, water restrictions that were formerly in place only during the summer months will now be in force year-round. Residents with odd-numbered addresses may water their lawns on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while those with even-numbered addresses may irrigate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Irrigation is prohibited on Mondays. All irrigation must take place between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m., in order to avoid the peak heat of the day. Homeowners who are laying new sod may request a special allowance from the city up to three times per calendar year allowing 14 days of unrestricted watering.
Also included in the ordinance was a provision allowing the city to turn off a resident’s water if a leak is detected on the property and not repaired within 96 hours. That’s an increase over the previously-recommended 72 hours, Assistant City Manager Rich Huebner said, in order to allow time to contact residents who might be traveling out of town.
Finally, the new ordinance prohibits washing a vehicle with a hose that’s not fitted with a shut-off nozzle and allowing water from washing vehicles or pavement to go into the city stormwater system.
“I think the whole thing stinks,” said Council Member David Skaug. “I don't like the idea of a neighbor calling in a neighbor saying that you watered and I didn't. I don't like the idea of me wanting to mow my lawn on a Sunday, if that's my only day to water. I don't like the idea of somebody who doesn't have a water system, who says ‘I changed the sprinkler four times during the day. And I (don’t want to go out) at two o'clock at night to go change my sprinklers.’ … I think we'd be better off encouraging people, to have a note in every water bill and say, ‘Let's see what we can do as a community. Let's see if we can do it ourselves, use less water.’ We're already halfway through the water season.”
“I think we're asking the public, the little people, to bear the crunch of this,” Skaug added. “And I don't think that's right.”
“I would love for everybody to say, ‘Hey, let's all conserve water,’” said Deputy Mayor Deanna Martinez. “But it's not going to happen without an ordinance, unfortunately. Because today, more people are more worried about their own little patch of yard than the community as a whole.”
The ordinance passed 4-3, with Council members Skaug, David Eck and Judy Madewell voting against it.
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
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Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.