Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drought Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sequim and partners urge consistent drought messaging as flows remain low
Summary
City of Sequim and regional partners discussed drought outreach, installation of radio-read meters, a new three-tier rate structure and proposed coordination of messaging across PUDs, cities and WSU. DRMT members proposed a subcommittee and a June technical panel on groundwater modeling.
At the Dungeness River Management Team meeting on May 13, City of Sequim representatives and partners emphasized coordinated public messaging and operational steps in response to the declared drought. "We usually increase our drought outreach and we've installed radio readers on our water meters," said a Sequim representative, describing leak-detection capability and a new three-tier rate for larger commercial users intended to encourage conservation.
Anne Soule of the League of Women Voters' Water Committee urged consistent messaging across purveyors—municipal utilities, PUDs and private-well communities—and offered the League's assistance coordinating signs and QR codes. "It would be great if messages about why we are in a drought and how people can conserve were consistent across purveyors," Soule said.
Members discussed reactivating a water-management subcommittee and tentatively scheduled a June panel to review the groundwater model calibration, the mitigation calculator and possible Department of Ecology roles in model updates. Staff said the June panel will include the original groundwater-model consultant and Washington Water Trust as presenters. The group also noted the statewide Washington Water Future initiative and potential regional roundtables that could engage DRMT members.
