MOSES LAKE — Meeting the demands growth will make on Moses Lake’s water system will require updating some of the city’s development plans, and some discussion about how the Moses Lake City Council wants to handle growth. City Engineer Richard Law reviewed the city’s current planning process and consideration of future growth with council members Tuesday. 

Council member Deanna Martinez said the subject needs more investigation and discussion by the council – a lot more. 

“I’m all for more meetings to discuss this,” she said.  

Law said city officials should think about water supply when they think about growth. 

“That’s always the pink elephant in the room, I guess,” he said. “We all understand that our water system has been under strain.” 

In answer to a question from council member Victor Lombardi, Law said slightly more than half the water used by city residents and businesses goes to residences.  

City officials submitted an updated water system plan to the Washington Department of Health last fall, and one of its components was an evaluation of system repairs and upgrades through 2030.  

“If you look at the capital improvement program in the plan – it's a lot of money,” he said. “As a city, we’re going to have to look at how we’re going to finance that.” 

The plan estimates the city will have to spend about $38.8 million for water improvements through 2030, about $6.47 million per year.  

The city has aging water lines that need replacement, he said; there’s a history of water main breaks in some lines. In addition, water from one of the city’s wells will need more treatment. A water tower is needed for the Moses Pointe area of town, he said. 

“There’s a need for storage in the Moses Pointe zone that’s been put off, waiting for development, essentially for 20 years,” he said. “We’ve got to get that done so we can run that side of the lake the way it’s supposed to be run.” 

Because there’s no water tower, the pump providing water to the Moses Pointe area has to run in the summer a lot more than city officials would like, he said.  

Even with the improvements Moses Lake would have some challenges when it comes to its water system. 

Water consumption is projected to go up over time, he said. Consumption actually decreased between 2022 and 2024, Law said, and city officials hope to keep that trend going. But projected growth will add to demand. 

Moses Lake will need to find additional sources of water to meet that demand, Law said. 

“That’s our limiting factor,” he said.  

In answer to a question from council member Mark Fancher, Law said the estimates for water use include water for irrigation, such as watering lawns and gardens.  

“What do we think the (usage) is without irrigation?” Fancher asked. 

Law said the national estimate is that a family of three people would use about half the water used in 2023 if irrigation is taken out.  

As of 2023, demand in some parts of the city is lower than in others – lower in the central area of town and along Wheeler Road. At its peak in 2023, demand in the Knolls Vista area outstripped what its three wells could supply, and water was pumped in from other areas of town to meet demand.  

Water levels in the aquifer are going down over time, Law said. 

“(That decline) also correlates to a year-over-year decline in how much water those wells can produce,” he said. “That’s why we’re working so hard trying to find legal access to other sources of water.”