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Blue Lake
hears Mad water proposal
By Matt Kapko
Eye Reporter
The Arcata Eye
February 18, 2003
The Blue Lake
City Council meeting doubled up as a two-part affair on Feb. 11 –
offering not just the usual city government happenings, but a PowerPoint
presentation that seemed more like a short film being projected on the
wall.
The presentation offered creative graphics and stimulating three dimensional
moments, but it meant much more to those on the council and in attendance.
Carol Rische, general manager of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District,
introduced a multinational company’s proposal to purchase water
from the district’s Mad River supply base.
The proposal was made by Ric Davidge, the president of WorldWater, SA.
This conglomerate has grouped many industries into its operations and
they include: a private investment company, the world’s largest
shipping company, a water transport company and a water export company.
Aqueous Inc., its water export business based in Anchorage, Alaska, is
now interested in expanding the global privatization of water to Humboldt
County.
It doesn’t want to buy the district’s unused industrial water
to sell it back to North Coast residents, but to transport it hundreds
of miles to potential customers in Monterey and San Diego, where securing
an adequate water supply is increasingly becoming a problem.
Aqueous Inc. wants to purchase 13.2 million gallons of untreated water
each day. It plans to fill it into an 800 foot long, 200 foot wide bag
at the existing dock at Samoa Pacific’s mill in the south end of
Humboldt Bay. For this untreated water, the company has offered $900,000
to $1.6 million.
The operation would require 14 tugboats and employ 180 to 200 people,
Rische said. The bags are expected to last seven to 10 years and when
in tug, would leave a 25 mile draft in its wake.
The district currently supplies 39 million gallons of water per day (MGD)
to its customers – 22 MGD to the Samoa Pacific mill and 17 MGD to
its 80,000 municipal customers. Its water services reach the north side
of McKinleyville, the east side of Blue Lake and to the south of the College
of the Redwoods.
The system is designed to reliably supply 75 MGD; this leaves an unused
amount of 36 MGD. When the Simpson pulp mill was still in operation before
it shut down in 1992, it, with Samoa Pacific, comprised 80 percent of
the district’s costs. Samoa Pacific currently foots 67 percent of
the bill.
Rische warned the audience that Samoa Pacific has already notified the
district that it wants to renegotiate a contract for less water once the
current agreement expires next year. This will undoubtedly increase municipal
user costs, Rische said.
However, Blue Lake’s total water costs would decrease from $51,000
to as low as $34,000 if this plan goes through, she added.
Wet Blanket
But for most in the audience and some on the council, this enticing decrease
in fees was not convincing enough to warrant further consideration of
the proposal.
Rische made clear that the district’s Board of Directors is seeking
input from its customers to decide if this proposal should be further
pursued – not approved.
“We haven’t done a lot of research,” but, “we
think we should at least consider this,” Rische said. She noted
the wavering complexities involved, but said, “The concept of water
law is to use it to full beneficial use.”
She voiced fears about what could happen if the district is found to not
be fulfilling that need.
“Once you start getting challenged, you run a much greater risk
of losing the [water permit],” she said.
The district’s permit with the state grants it the right to store
a specific volume and to divert a specific volume.
“We have water rights far in excess of what our infrastructure is
built for,” she said, emphasizing that the proposal accounts for
one-third of the district’s current excess capacity.
Concerns about the project were as diverse as the operations of the conglomerate
that brought the offer to the table.
“The idea of a private corporation coming in to use our natural
resources for profit is not a good idea,” Blue Lake resident Karina
Green said.
“I think water is a precious resource and not a commodity.”
City Councilmember Brian Julian discussed how easy it is for water to
be taken for granted. With the turn of the tap: out it comes. With the
flush of the toilet: away it goes. Mayor Dave Nakamura agreed, adding
that 90 percent of the earth’s populace lives without clean running
water.
“I’m opposed to this,” Julian said, offering concerns
about the potential NAFTA implications. “That’s a tendency
of these international trade organizations to take local control out.
You can get the most experienced experts on NAFTA and they have no idea”
what to make of it.
This region is undergoing a major transition in its economic development
and “this looks to me like another extractive industry,” Julian
concluded.
City Councilmember Marlene Smith is opposed as well. “At one time
we thought that trees were a renewable resource and we’ve later
found out that they are not. Sending water to already densely populated
areas adds to urban sprawl, something that we should oppose. If you’re
looking at savings of $1 to $2 per day then we should look at personal
conservation,” Smith commented.
‘Worth a look’
Those in favor of further pursuing the proposal also provided their reasoning.
City Councilmember Sherman Schapiro said, “I think it’s worth
the look. I see it as a clean industry; I see a lot of jobs.” He
said he sees pulp mills as operating more “onerously” than
this industry.
City Councilmember Adelene Jones said, “I would to like to see this
project pursued,” but, “I don’t want to see this water
going to fill more swimming pools.”
As it turned out, if a simple majority was to dictate the feedback Rische
chooses to give to the board of directors, Nakamura became the deciding
factor.
“I think I’m in favor of at least asking the question,”
he said. “I wish it wasn’t this proposal.”
Offering further insight into his logic, he added; “That (water)
system was built for an industry that is no longer there.”
Leaky news
In more water news, City Manager Wiley Buck informed the council that
the city’s half million gallon water tank is leaking. “It’s
a bad leak, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. But, the
longer we let that leak go, the harder it’s gonna be to fix.”
While Blue Lake’s water leaks from its tank, the water district
is considering capitalizing on its leaking assets.
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