Thursday, July 9, 2015

Water Update: What, Me Hurry?

Port Angeles considering stricter city water curbs to protect fish; other sources studied

City officials are pondering imposition of stricter, Stage 3 water conservation measures within the next three weeks as the Elwha River flows slower and slower during the North Olympic Peninsula’s rainless summer, Craig Fulton, city public works and utilities director, said Wednesday.

Fulton said the river is flowing at 340 cubic feet per second (cfs) two months ahead of schedule.

Stage 3 measures, under which the council could limit lawn and garden watering to specific hours and days, could be implemented as the waterway approaches 300 cfs, Fulton said.

Fulton said Wednesday there is a 50-50 chance he will recommend at the next council meeting July 21 that council members impose the Stage 3 emergency.

I mean, yeah, why hurry, right? Why do anything to create a sense of urgency around something that's only essential for life and safety?

So, anyway, let's discuss this again - maybe, possibly - in a couple of weeks, shall we?

27 comments:

  1. You're missing the point here. This is about GRANT MONEY.

    " Fulton was hopeful the city could obtain drought-relief and fish-impact grants to seek alternative water sources as the dry weather continues."

    Port Angeles city staff is doing what they do best: look for grant money to fund themselves.

    The city's interest in water issues is only about taking advantage of the circumstances to maximize leveraging the State and Feds for more grant money.

    Because, as we all know, Port Angeles is "poor", and "needy" and has long been on State aid for pretty much everything. Have to keep being "the charity".

    So, as we see, the current drying up of water sources on the Olympic Peninsula is just a good opportunity to justify why Port Angeles should get more grants.

    Immediate impacts to residents? Financial impacts to those who own property and businesses? Long term planning for climate change adaptation?

    No, no no.

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  2. Be sure to bring something to drink to that council meeting. It might be a long, dry one. Lots of hot air blowing around.

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  3. It's kind of a reversal of metaphors, but...If your house is one fire, you don't want to discuss calling the fire department...In a couple of weeks...

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  4. Hey, give it a break, Fulton did interview a hydrologist to talk about maybe one day seeking alternate water sources for future growth...

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    1. Your (hopefully sarcastic) comment is more qualified than Fulton is. "Maybe"..."one day"..."seeking"...

      No one breaks a sweat in City Hall, that's for sure.

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    2. Sarcastic indeed, the howler is "future growth."

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  5. Like many in Port Angeles, I listen to Canadian radio stations. They have been chock full of stories about water restrictions, advice on how to save water, social issues (do you shame neighbors who still water their lawns or wash their cars?) and more.

    One guy who has written a number of books on conservation said that Vancouver, even with it's reservoirs, will run out of water by November if it keeps consuming at it's current rates.

    The PDN? Nothing. They don't barely acknowledge there is a problem.

    Don't want to hinder the real estate sales.

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    1. And again, no one (per my internal blog feedback info) is arriving at Unearthed after searching for "water port angeles" or "drought port angeles" or anything like that.

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    2. 7:40 AM You should have written "its reservoirs" and "its current rates".

      You aren't trying to say "it is reservoirs" or "it is current rates", so please, leave the apostrophe out.

      Sincerely,

      Dr. Apostrophe

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    3. The Doc's right...

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    4. I was taught that an apostrophe was appropriate when indicating possession, as in " It's tail light is out..". Otherwise, it looks like a plural.

      But, these days, it seems we can spell as we wish, omit letters as we wish, and pretty much do what ever we wish!

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    5. Punctuation nit-picking....head throbbing....interest....fading....

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    6. The Doctor is correct. An apostrophe indicates possession in the case of nouns, but in the case of "it," an apostrophe is only used to mean the contraction of "it is." Read a grammar textbook, Anonymous 8:58, or google a reliable site.

      People laugh at grammar. They should take it seriously. The WA legal code has an unintentionally ambiguous law regarding the education of judges where the misplacement of a comma makes a huge difference in interpretation. It is by no means the only case in which poor grammar has led to legal trouble, as any lawyer can tell you.

      Many on this site sneer at the uneducated citizenry of Port Angeles. The sneering is often justified; just read the letters in the PDN. Let's not exalt ignorance here.

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    7. Think of "it" as being in the same class as "him" and "her"... You wouldn't put an apostrophe in "his" or "hers" (I hope), nor would you in "its" as far as a possessive goes. As noted, "it's" is the contraction of "it" and "is".

      That said, there's plenty of bad grammar out there, not just in Clallam County. Lots and lots and lots of bad grammar. And that doesn't invalidate what Anon 7:40 is saying.

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  6. Fireworks out at Clallam Bay tonight. GREAT idea.

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  7. Just for the record...Maureen Wall is crazy, and generally extremely unpleasant. If she is leading the charge on the local food front here, then I sure hope you've got some canned goods stocked up. She will offend or alienate everyone eventually.

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    1. What is this about?

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    2. This comment courtesy of one of the local grocers I'm sure. I know Maureen to be a warm and engaging person who is totally focused on a sustainable economy. Who can complain about having locally grown food available at bargain prices--oh yeah, that overpriced food store
      located just a few doors down from Maureen's futuristic demonstration of how it could/should be done. I, and many others, applaud Maureen's entrepreneurial spirit.

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    3. Go for it Maureen!...Forward thinking is what this town needs.

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    4. Sorry, but, my experiences with Maureen Hope-She's-Not-Off-Her-Meds Wall have been very unpleasant. At best, she's a highly unstable element.

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    5. @Anon 5:32

      Yeah, too bad she isn't as perfect as you.

      Having been in this town for too many years now, and having been involved in most of the groups and circles, I can safely say there is nobody else in Port Angeles that is doing the innovative things, with a commitment for helping society, on a scale Maureen has been since she came to Port Angeles.

      Masters in Fine Art. Conversant in other languages. Working by herself day after day on these projects for over a decade.

      And you? Happy to snipe anonymously.

      No wonder you have had "unpleasant experiences" . I'm not on her scale of achievements, and I don't suffer fools very well, either.

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    6. I urge you to go talk with her old boyfriend, Jim, who works at the county. She took his money, used him as labor to plant a vineyard, as well as doing a lot of other financial and physical tasks for her - then she unceremoniously dumped him. She's a user of people. Beware her temper.

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    7. Oh? Now we're getting into her personal life? Her relationships?

      Give me a break. That is really pathetic.

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    8. Exactly.

      Not to belabor the point, but I sure would like it if the "progressives" (define that what ever way you want) could use a bit of their gray matter and think through what they say, before they say it. Of course everyone has flaws. Of course there is no such thing as perfection. Is it possible to support what is innovative and progressive, all the while knowing it isn't perfect?

      We are in deep shit here in Port Angeles. Years pass, other communities move forward, but here in Port Angeles, we shoot down anything that moves. Good, bad or otherwise.

      Of course crazy schemes like the Lincoln of the Fantasy Tram deserve to be criticized. But an innovative food producing operation that is totally self funded? Are we not able to differentiate good from bad?

      Enough.

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    9. I agree, CK could have used a bit of discretion before posting someone's very personal vendetta against a woman just because she made the paper.
      Anyone sure it is not the work of the Country Aire's right wing manager?
      Can't get any fresher than pick it and eat it today. In any case would seem people's personal lives would be off limits here--unless of course they put themselves on a ballot or attempt other "leadership" positions. These we can and should hold accountable. Just because someone wants to provide fresh wholesome food is no reason to open them up to sniping--unless of course they sign their name to their snipe. Then we can judge the salience of their gripe.

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    10. Right-wing manager of Country Aire? I knew the owners were extremely conservative, but this right right-wing thing is even more...bizarre. I guess it's a good thing they have so many right-wing kooks running for President to choose from.

      As for the comments...I try NOT to filter out things, but I will try to do better at keeping posts (and posted comments) on topic.

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