PORT ANGELES — The water in Lake Mills behind Glines Canyon Dam and Lake Aldwell behind Lower Elwha Dam is not a solution to the current water shortage, according to city officials.
Former Port Angeles City Councilman Orville Campbell was responsible for running the dams to supply power for the Crown Zellerbach mill, which is now Nippon Paper Industries USA Co. Ltd.
Campbell said the two dams were built with no provisions for industrial or municipal water supplies.
There’s also no storage capacity to speak of behind the dams.
They are just “run of the river” projects, Campbell said.
In addition, the water isn’t potable since it’s surface water that would have to be treated, said Port Angeles Public Works Director Glenn Cutler.
The lakes also lack any pipes to bring the water into the city water system, he said.
‘Serious’ shortage declared
The city of Port Angeles declared a Stage 2, or serious, water shortage on Monday.
The declaration was based upon a rapid drop in streamflows on the Elwha River, which influences how much water is available to the city’s water system.
The city had declared a Stage 1, or anticipated, water shortage on March 22, shortly after a March 10 statewide drought declaration.
City Water Superintendent Steve Sperr said Port Angeles gets its drinking water from the 60-foot-deep Ranney Collector well adjacent to the Elwha River, which usually is running at about 720 cubic feet per second this time of year.
As of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the river at MacDonald Creek Bridge was running at 10.04 feet and 352 cubic feet per second, up from 9.95 feet and 305 cubic feet per second at noon Monday.
Creek is the backup
The city’s backup water source is Morse Creek, but if the Elwha River is running low, so is the creek, Sperr said.