Drought prompts King County to begin water-saving actions

Earlier this week, King County Executive Ron Sims formally activated King County’s Drought Response Plan and directed facilities and fleet managers to immediately begin using less water in county operations. With record low snowpacks in King County watersheds and dire forecasts for stream flows this year, Sims also called on King County residents to use water wisely in the coming months. “The region’s worsening drought conditions make it imperative that King County lead by example and act quickly and aggressively to begin saving water,” Sims said. “Water is our most precious resource. But because the Puget Sound area is synonymous with water, few of us think about the importance of saving water until it is limited in supply. Water conservation is one of the surest and cheapest ways to protect our water supply.” The plan outlines dozens of actions the county can take to save water, depending on the severity of the drought. Actions will range from cutting back sidewalk cleaning and landscape irrigation, to cutting short the washing of bus and vehicle fleets, to speeding up the retrofitting of county facilities with water-saving devices such as low-flow toilets. “It’s important that we communicate to our employees and the public the need to reduce our demand for this most vital natural resource,” Sims said. “I urge everyone in the region to cut back on water use to ensure we keep as much water in our streams throughout the summer in this critical time for fish needs — and to stretch our existing supplies for public use as much as possible.” When last used during the drought of 2001, the county’s Drought Response saved more than 19 million gallons of water and $50,000 by reducing discretionary water use on things like landscaping. Sims said King County will continue to monitor conditions and will look to state and local utilities for cooperative and consistent guidance on whether to step up its drought response. King County follows a four-stage water-shortage contingency plan modeled after the City of Seattle’s plan. The four stages are the Advisory, Voluntary Curtailment, Mandatory Curtailment and Emergency Curtailment. Sims’ announcement activated the plan at the Advisory stage, which involves notifying facility managers, reducing vehicle cleaning, using reclaimed water wherever possible, beginning restrictive irrigation programs at county facilities, and eliminating nonessential use of water unless supplied with reclaimed water. Besides responding to drought situations, Sims said King County has worked for years to implement water conservation and water reclamation. Since King County’s Water Conservation Program began in 2001, it has led to water audits of its facilities and water-conserving retrofits to things like low-flow aerators on sinks and shower faucets that are saving more than 35 millions gallons of water a year. The program also educates King County residents on how they can save water. A drought-proof source of water for landscape and agricultural irrigation and other uses, reclaimed water is wastewater that’s treated to such a high level it can be used safely and effectively for non-drinking purposes. Reclaimed water is available year-round, even during dry summer months or when a drought strains other water resources. The county expects to expand production significantly when the future Brightwater wastewater treatment plant comes online in 2010. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division already produces more than 290 million gallons a year of reclaimed water for landscape irrigation and industrial processes. For more information about King County’s water-saving efforts, contact Jo Sullivan, at 206-296-8361, or Dave Monthie, at 206-296-3782.