Kamin Warns of Increased Demand for Water

— from Paul Kamin, General Manager, Eastsound Water Users Association —

The summer of 2015 is starting markedly different than recent years. Eastsound Water has been experiencing significantly elevated demands for water throughout the month of June. This report has been designed to provide members information on the status of the water system. The plan is to issue updated versions of this report as new data becomes available and as the impact of the current drought evolves. Your EWUA staff are attempting to ramp up production capacity to keep up with members’ higher demand. Your EWUA staff are also keeping a close eye on water levels in our wells and Purdue Lake. The water stored in the aquifer and in the Lake has to last us through till the winter rains return.

Daily Water Demand.
Last week, June 20-27, Eastsound Water’s production was up 21% over the previous high for this week of the year.

This past week’s water use was higher than any week during the summer of 2014. Typically the peak water use is in July or August. The steady increase in water demand through the month of June is a concern for your water system team. Members are using water at a rate not seen in a decade.

June Demand Changes
The trend of increasing water use is not limited to the last week in June.I n 2015 EWUA’s commercial water users had 26% more water use run through their meters between May 20 and June 20 when compared to 2014. Residential use was also up over 11% during the most recent quarter. (April 20-June 20).

Storage Tank Level
EWUA has almost 1 million gal. of storage capacity in our tanks. The largest tank is the 600,000 gal Longwood Lane Tank. These tanks provide a buffer to help manage fluctuations in demand throughout the day and throughout the week. It is our “goal” to keep the 600,000 tank as full as possible during this time of year. During the past several weeks that has been a challenge. The tank level is considered “full” when water level is between 31’ and 32’. During the past week the tank’s daily peak level has been declining, but not dangerously so. The below chart tracks the tank level. Again, we are ramping up production, in an attempt to keep up with demand, but the limit of our sustainable production capacity is in sight.

Purdue Lake Water Levels
Purdue Lake on Buck Mountain provides at least half of EWUA’s water source each year. During June the lake level has been declining faster than a normal year. The lake level will not rise again until we begin experiencing regular rainfall, and a decrease in demand. That is seldom earlier than November. At this point the lake is roughly 18” below normal. This represents 2.5 million gallons or about 2 weeks of water use for the entire system.

Conclusion
The current drought is impacting EWUA in some unanticipated ways. Members are using significantly more water. The drought has not diminished the overall water supply but the drought is likely linked to the increases in demand. Currently EWUA is managing to keep up with demand by expanding production. EWUA has not required our peak production capacity in the last decade but current demand is leading us in that direction. EWUA can pump only so much water into the distribution system. At this time EWUA is simply asking that members be conscious of their water use, and specifically mindful not to use more water for irrigation than needed. We’ll provide future updates as the situation evolves.

(From the July 1 newsletter for Eastsound Water Users Association members.)