Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Supply topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fiscal officer urges caution before committing Findlay's water to large industrial users
Summary
The fiscal officer cautioned that Findlay's source water and reservoir capacity are limited, noting a single new employer could request 1'4 million gallons per day and recommending policy safeguards before selling or allocating water to outsiders.
The city's fiscal officer distinguished "source water" from immediate pumping capacity and said the reservoir provides roughly a three-year reserve but that some supply is already committed by agreement. He warned that committing water to large industrial customers requires careful policy choices to protect residents' needs.
"One new Findlay employer could require 1 to 4,000,000 gallons per day," he said, adding that city leaders must decide how much supply to reserve for residents and growth. He used an example capacity profile (current usage 6'7 million gallons per day; plant ultimately might handle up to 16,000,000) to illustrate trade-offs and recommended deliberate, long-term evaluation before any sale or outsourcing of water.
The officer said such commitments have multigenerational impacts: "You change this, you don't have another chance to change it back," and urged the council to develop clear criteria and reserves for domestic use before approving large industrial allocations.
