Grant PUD recreation surveys begin this month

EPHRATA — Starting this month, people using Grant County Public Utility District recreation facilities will be asked to participate in an in-person survey. Shannon Lowry, PUD license compliance and lands services manager, said it’s a survey the PUD is required to conduct every three years.

“This is a big year for us,” Lowry told PUD commissioners April 11. “We’ll spend a lot of time out there talking to people.”

The recreation survey asks participants their primary county of residence and if they pay a Grant County PUD bill. People are also asked how they found out about the recreation facility they are using.

Participants are asked what they plan to do when they’re using the PUD recreation sites, choosing from an extensive list, and which of those activities are the focus of the visit. People who are using the boat launches will be asked if they were required to wait, and if so, how long. Surveyors will be going to all 19 PUD recreation sites.

“We try to get a cross-section of visitors at all our rec sites,” she said.

The 2023 survey will be the first since all the public recreation facilities were completed on Crescent Bar, she said. The survey schedule was discombobulated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s our first sort of baseline there,” she said.

Lowry said the surveyors will be wearing identification badges, and estimated the survey will take about 15 minutes. The goal is to talk to 600 to 800 people, she said.

The survey data is used to identify ways to improve the recreation facilities, she said. As a public utility, the PUD is required to maintain rec facilities along the river and must have a facilities plan which is updated every 10 years. The survey data is also used in the facilities planning.

Lowry also updated commissioners on a dredging project at the Priest Rapids Recreation Area boat launch.

Crews removed about 1,250 cubic yards of debris at the boat launch and added riprap in selected areas to reduce the possibility of erosion. The repairs are expected to last about 10 years, Lowry said.

An asphalt path at Crescent Bar is scheduled for repairs, Lowry said, due to damage from tree roots and the island’s geographical composition. Some of the poplar trees will be removed, she said, and the path repaired.

Commissioner Larry Schaapman asked about paving it with gravel rather than asphalt. Lowry said the path is used by people with limited mobility, as well as families pushing strollers. A gravel path would be more difficult for them to use, she said.

Utility district commissioners approved updates to the PUD’s telecommunications fee schedule during its April 25 meeting. The Herald will provide information about those updates in an upcoming story.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.