Saving water statewide

OLYMPIA — The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee recently heard updates on efforts to save water across the state.

Representatives from the Office of Drinking Water and the Department of Health came before the committee to give an update on progress made in response to the Municipal Water Law. One part of the law gave a 10-year time frame for water services to install service meters. That time will come to an end Jan. 1, 2017. The service meters measure water usage and can be used to determine leaks in a system.

Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, said he is currently not in favor of service meters, and he needs more information on the issue.

“What’s important is that we have the whole picture, and we’re still putting the whole picture together,” Dent said.

At this time, Dent opposes water service meters because they are expensive, he said. The service meters have a shorter lifespan than other components of the water system, and therefore will have to be replaced. However, Dent said water meters could be necessary in the future.

In Grant County, of 54 water systems that reported data last year, 26 had completely finished installing service meters. Eleven reported less than 50 percent completion of meter installation.

Mike Dexel, the water resources policy lead, used a water service in Grant County as an example of an area where service meters proved to be beneficial. The Lakeview Park Water Association in Soap Lake installed service meters, and with those meters, found 25 leaks. After those leaks were identified and fixed, the water service decreased water loss by approximately 21 million gallons in one year, Dexel said during the meeting.

“Meter installation really told them a lot about where those leaks were going,” he said.

One of the requirements of the rule is for water services to have leakage under 10 percent. As of 2014, the statewide average leakage is below 10 percent.

In Grant County, the fully metered water systems reported about 7.5 percent leakage out of more than 7 billion gallons of water produced.

Bellingham and Olympia both showed improvements in water usage after installing service meters and engaging in education and outreach about saving water in their communities.