Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeWednesday, Jul. 08, 2009
Advisory panel to help set water rates
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer
Kennewick Irrigation District officials think it would be wise to have public input in setting future water rates.
The board voted Tuesday to create a Water Rate Advisory Committee that will review costs and make recommendations for setting water rates beginning in 2011.
The call for customer participation in rate-setting comes in response to public outcry this summer when KID imposed a new 11-tier rate schedule. While some customers received a reduction in their irrigation costs, many others complained about rate increases as high as 32 percent.
"We need input from the public," said John Pringle, board vice president, moments before the directors unanimously voted to create the advisory panel.
Director Gene Huffman questioned why $75,000 was being recommended for hiring a water rate consultant to work with the committee. He was told that a board made up of lay people should have someone available with expertise to guide them.
Scott Revell, interim district manager, said the committee would have five members representing a mix of water users, including urban, rural and farm. The committee could conduct surveys, analyses, studies and reports relating to KID.
Members would meet once a quarter, then make recommendations in August 2010 for KID's 2011 water rate schedule.
People interested in serving on the committee for at least two years must submit an application and letter of interest by Aug. 7. Applications are on the water agency's home page at www.kid.org.
Also Tuesday, the board heard a customer complaint about moss and algae accumulating in KID's system.
"This is unlike anything we've experienced in the past," Revell told John Hinckley, who complained about moss clogging his irrigation system.
Revell said the record algae bloom appears to be a side effect of improved water conditions in the Yakima River. Sunlight penetrates deeper into the cleaner, clear water, promoting algae production.
"We know about it but there's not much we can do," said Pringle, who operates commercial orchards. He said the situation has been so bad he has ordered a night crew to clean irrigation screens every few hours.
KID has an herbicide that can kill the algae, but restrictions by the state Department of Ecology prevent effective use, said Harry Fox, KID's operations manager.
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