PORT ANGELES — The upper Fairview Water District should be off of water restrictions in less than a month, Clallam County Public Utility District’s general manager told about 20 of the district’s residents Monday.
Doug Nass announced at the commissioners’ meeting Monday that four state agencies have signed off on a short-term plan to pump water up the hill to their homes through 43-year-old pipes that were designed to bring water downhill.
The agencies also gave the PUD the go-head for beginning the process of developing a long-term plan for a new pipeline.
The pipeline would stretch more than four miles and climb 600 feet in elevation.
Both plans are to serve 566 water customers who have been on strict outdoor water use bans since June 10.
Nass gave a report and then responded to questions from district residents.
PUD representatives met with officials of the state departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Health and Commerce on Wednesday.
They received a reply from those agencies in time for the board of commissioners meeting on Monday, Nass said.
“We have until Aug. 1 to get a temporary system in place. We’ve made a lot of progress on that,” he said.
As soon as the pipeline is working, water restrictions will end, Nass said. That could be a week or so earlier or later than the Aug. 1 deadline set by Fish and Wildlife.
Nass said it wasn’t clear what actions the state would take if the PUD does not meet the Aug. 1 deadline.
The temporary reverse pumping system, estimated to cost $500,000 to $2 million, would reverse the flow in the piping system originally designed to bring water from Morse Creek to about 750 lower Fairview customers.
The customers in the lower Fairview District now get water from two new wells.
Mike Kitz, PUD water superintendent, said the plan would be to pump water from the new wells to the Deer Park Reservoir through an existing system, then from that reservoir to the higher elevation Township Line Reservoir, which serves 566 customers in the upper district.
The two wells, which went online in June, are expected to produce as much as 500 gallons per minute —more than enough to provide all water district users, Kitz said.
The wells draw from a “moving aquifer,” which was described as a slow-moving river of water that begins high in the mountains, and can take up to seven years to percolate down to the location of the wells north of U.S. Highway 101.
PUD power grid workers will install transformers to power three pumps which are on order and due to arrive in about three weeks, Kitz said.
They will be installed at three locations on the pipeline to pump around pressure reduction stations in pipes that once provided water from Morse Creek to lower district customers.
Kitz said he believes reversing the flow will increase the water pressure by about 10 pounds per square inch — thought to be within the aging water pipeline’s tolerances.
The PUD now is seeking funding and must obtain engineering plans for a long-term solution.
That would cost an estimated $10 million for a permanent new pump and pipe system, which would take a few years to plan and install.
The pumps purchased for the temporary pipeline would be later used for the permanent system.
In winter, when Morse Creek flows are high, upper Fairview would revert to using the creek as its primary water source, because the cost of the water is primarily in the cost of pumping, PUD Commissioner Ted Simpson said.
Level 4 restrictions imposed by Ecology were based on the rapidly-falling Morse Creek, which, until mid-June, was the primary water supply for about 1,300 customers in the district.
Morse Creek’s flow was at 32.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Sunday, according to the Ecology creek flow monitoring station.
If the creek’s flow slows to 25 cfs, the district may no longer draw water from the water diversion above Morse Creek Falls.
That restriction is in place to ensure enough water for fish in the lower reach of the creek, according to Ecology water rules.
The PUD proposed pumping well water below the natural fish barrier formed by the waterfalls, with the water entering the stream near Four Seasons Ranch, theoretically allowing residents to continue using water from the upper stream without affecting fish.
Ecology and Fish and Wildlife turned down the plan, Nass said.
However, Ecology did agree to temporarily allow river diversions through Aug. 1, with the added water to augment flow for the salmon runs, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.