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Summer 2012 NewsletterWelcome to Vista Vu Water Users Association's newsletter. Our purpose is to keep you informed about important activities and projects that your Board of Trustees is undertaking on your behalf. Domestic Water Sale Falls ThroughAUSA Bar, the Bridgeport developer who had an option to purchase an acre foot of domestic water from us and had expressed interest in another 9 acre feet, has informed us that they will not be needing our water after all. They have forfeited their $1,000 earnest money which has covered all but $100 of our cost to prove "connectivity" with the Okanogan River - a precondition for transferring any of our domestic well water. Domestic Water Metering Nears CompletionAll the remaining meter parts and materials have been ordered and will be installed on the lines serving the Elsbree, Oestreich, Stenberg, Vanderstoep, Shove and Marsh households in the next few weeks. Already we have been able to detect and repair some serious leaks that were wasting significant amounts of water. Our costs to produce water have increased considerably since we completed our domestic system expansion and arsenic removal projects last year. Water conservation is not only required by the Department of Health; it is essential for our continued financial health. Ways we waste waterGarden watering Leaking faucets and toilet tanks What's our water cost?Since the arsenic removal system went on line July 20, 2011, we have pumped over 3.2 million gallons of water. By the end of one year this number will have reached 4 million gallons. Our annual budget for domestic water is $26,000; that's 6.5 cents per 1000 gals. Actual costs will probably be higher because our arsenic removal media has not lasted as long as we'd expected and will need to be replaced earlier. (See below) How much water do we each use?While only 16 of our 22 connections have been metered, we do have some good data on how we're using water. The table below shows what each household was using in mid-June. (Names are omitted to protect privacy.) |
Household ID No | Useage (gals/day) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | 1,164 |
Fifty percent of households used less than 267 gals/day; fifty percent more. Differences can be attributed to stock watering, hot tubs, family size, as well as personal conservation habits. Under discussion by your Board of Trustees is a goal to reduce consumption wherever possible to 250 gals/day per household. The most effective way to achieve this goal is to impose a surcharge on use over 250 gals/day. |
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2 | 850 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | 822
4 | 789
| 5 | 381
| 6 | 296
| 7 | 294
| 8 | 269
| 9 | 266
| 10 | 224
| 11 | 209
| 12 | 200
| 13 | 188
| 14 | 171
| 15 | 64
| 16 | 2
| Total | 6,189
| Mean | 387
| Median | 267
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Arsenic Removal System ProblemsBecause of an engineering oversight a critical automatic valve was not installed in the plumbing of the arsenic removal units. As a result, during periodic back-flushing cycles, excessive volumes of treated water passed through the tanks where special media adsorbs arsenic. We believe this contributed to shortening the life of the media in ways we don't fully understand. Irrigation Improvements Work FlawlesslyHalfway through the second year since being installed, our VFD controlling our main 250 hp pump is again saving money and preventing headaches for the Board members who run it. We have produced a checklist for start-up and shut-down that we'll be using to train people to operate the system. As a start, all Board members will be trained so that we have some staffing redundancy. Association members with an interest in learning how the system works will also receive training.
Bob Goodwin For further information contact: Stu
Skidmore, President; Doug Marsh, Vice President;
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