QUINCY — Water is a critical commodity throughout the Inland Northwest, and it’s even more critical in growing cities like Quincy. City officials are working on a program to encourage city residents to conserve water, starting with a booth at Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day. Bob Davis, water program manager for the city, said he’s going to be wearing an, um, eye-catching costume. 

He's going to be dressed as poop, he said, with the goal of educating people about things that shouldn’t be going down the sewer. 

“Non-disposable bags and stuff, which really tear up our equipment. No wastewater treatment equipment is really geared to handle mop heads and stuff like that,” Davis said. “Even though the outside of the container may say it’s flushable, it’s really not flushable. We get diesel fuel, sometimes, and gasoline – no fuels can go down the drains. No objects. Just poop.” 

The exhibit will include a demonstration of what happens when objects that shouldn’t go in the sewer end up there.  

The booth also will have a lot of information about water conservation.  

Water conservation is an important issue in Quincy, since the demand for water is straining the city’s system. Like other towns, the highest demand in Quincy is during the summer when people are watering their lawns. 

To help address that the city has a voluntary water conservation program. Residents in odd-numbered houses are encouraged to water on odd days, with even-numbered residences watering even days.  

“It’s voluntary right now. We’re putting together modifications to (Quincy’s municipal code) to make it more mandatory. The goal would be to have something mandatory in place next irrigation season,” Daivs said. 

Some Quincy residents are missing the sweet spot when it comes to watering the lawn, he said. 

“I think the key is overwatering. Certainly, we’re going to allow a reasonable rate of what we would consider normal irrigation for lawns. But there are a lot of folks who just turn their sprinkler on and it runs all night long, and (excess water) runs down the street. That’s the kind of stuff we have to stop.” 

City officials will be conducting an information campaign over the winter to make sure residents know the options. 

“That’s why we’re doing the booth now,” he said. “And we’ll send out flyers in the mail and (provide) more and more information, just to get awareness up.”

There are ways to save water, he said.

“Instead of washing your car in the driveway, wash it in the grass. Simple little stuff, things like that help,” Davis said.  

Another alternative is using outdoor landscaping that features plants native to Eastern Washington and suitable to its climate.  

“There are a couple houses in Quincy that have chosen to go with native vegetation that look attractive and very little water need,” he said.  

Quincy has developers of a new subdivision to provide alternatives for outdoor watering rather than using domestic water. The systems are called purple pipe after the color of the pipe, and city officials are looking at ways the city could use those systems to cut down on its domestic water use.  

There are some options for using a purple pipe system to water Quincy parks, he said.  

“We have some purple pipe already in the ground,” he said. “We’re looking at the use of irrigation water from the west canal – we're going to try next year, looking at some limited irrigation with water from the canal. That’s in the planning stages right now.” 

    Water conservation is becoming more important as Quincy grows, and city officials are looking at ways the city can cut its water use.