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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Fresh water is an issue in Falcon Cove.
Water: ‘This is an issue I bet isn’t going to go away’
Continued from Page A1
So far, t he moratorium
has only impacted two peo-
ple hoping to build homes .
But in the long term, the sit-
uation is forcing the water
district to look for alterna-
tives. T he county is also
reconsidering how the water
district can prove properties
can be served by enough
water.
The issue in Falcon Cove
was presented last week to
the county B oard of Com-
missioners. Some commis-
sioners see access to water
as a long-term challenge
for several special districts
across the county, especially
as the population in rural
areas continues to grow.
Commissioner Kathleen
Sullivan said many peo-
ple who live on the coast
don’t think there is a water
shortage.
“This brings home the
reality that, yes, water is our
concern also, and that we
need to be mindful of that, ”
she said.
Exploring alternatives
Water shortages in Fal-
con Cove can mainly be
attributed to record low
fl ows from the area’s main
spring and increased devel-
opment, according to a
water district memo. The
last long-term plan , done in
2004, projected the water
district would be fully built
out at 147 homes. Now, the
district expects 220 homes.
The dramatic growth in
homes being used as vaca-
tion rentals is also contrib-
uting to the problem. Vaca-
tion rentals have brought
a signifi cant increase in
demand during the time of
year with the least amount
of water.
An engineering study in
September showed the sys-
tem would not be sustain-
able if the area was fully
built out, said Charles Dice,
the secretary and system
operator for the water dis-
trict’s board.
The water district is
exploring different ways to
offer alternatives to people
interested in building during
the moratorium. O ne option
is trucking in water and
storing it in holding tanks.
“I wanted to come up
here and kind of lobby for
our lot owners,” Dice told
county commissioners . “As
a water board, we feel really
badly we can’t give them
the water connection they
need.”
Long-term approach
The county has reserva-
tions about approving alter-
native systems during the
moratorium, particularly
because there is no require-
ment for property own-
ers to connect to the water
district’s system once it is
lifted.
“It’s just better planning
practice,” Gail Henrik-
son, the county’s c ommu-
nity d evelopment d irector,
said in reference to hav-
ing homes all be part of one
water system.
Another concern is
the water district’s pro-
posal to use holding tanks
and trucked-in water . The
county already has a num-
ber of water alternatives on
the books, Henrikson said.
But before any building
permits can be approved,
the county and water dis-
trict will have to come to a
new agreement.
Currently, the county
requests a letter from the
water district guarantee-
ing enough water for a
new development. In order
for alternatives to work,
this checks-and-balances
method needs to be more
fl exible, Henrikson said,
so that homeowners seek-
ing to use alternative sys-
tems like rain catchment
or a well can prove to the
county their system meets
county code.
As of now, there is no
way to verify through the
county or the water district
whether the holding tank
system would comply with
county code .
“What we’re looking
for is something that doc-
uments they can meet our
code of 250 gallons a day,”
Henrikson said.
Dice argues that holding
tanks and rain catchment
systems are similar, but
that the tanks offer more
reliability.
“As an engineer, I
don’t see a big difference
between this and a rainwa-
ter system, especially in
these drought years the last
three years,” Dice contin-
ued. “I would much rather
call someone up and have
someone deliver my water
rather than sit around and
pray to the rain Gods and
hope that it rains.”
In the meantime, the
water district has passed a
water conservation ordi-
nance and commissioned
a well feasibility study to
identify new sources .
But water availability
needs to stay on the com-
mission’s to-do list, Com-
missioner Pamela Wev said.
“This is an issue I bet
isn’t going to go away,” she
said. “And it’d be really
terrifi c if we could begin
to do some thinking on the
long term.”
Seaside: The City Council will hear the appeal on Jan. 28
Continued from Page A1
Main & Main’s Dan
Dover said the turn -lane
requirement was unfair.
“They can’t preclude an
existing property from
access to the highway, ” he
said.
Michael Ard, the devel-
oper’s traffic consultant,
provided data showing
“vehicles never stacked
very deep and within a
minute or two, it always
unwound,” Dover said.
“It’s not like you’re going
to have a pile of cars.”
Risks to drivers and
pedestrians along the
35 mph highway are
“extremely negligible,” he
added.
The turn lane is “a
self-imposed requirement
by the city with no fac-
tual backup,” Dover said.
“They’ve done no studies
to show it is required. Yes,
it will improve the situa-
tion in the future, and DOT
has demonstrated that, but
it’s not a requirement to
access Highway 101. We
are within the parameters
that DOT can allow this
project to proceed.”
The Planning Com-
mission did offer Main
& Main an alternative,
amending their findings
to offer the developer a
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He estimates it would cut
store traffic in half. “It’s a
deal killer.”
The City Council will
hear the appeal on Jan.
28.
“Our hope is they
would uphold the approval
but remove the condition
to improve the intersec-
tion,” Dover said. “Own-
ers of commercial prop-
erty, especially along the
highway corridor, have
the right to access the
highway.”
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That’s not enough, the
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“Right-in,
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totally limits people’s
ability to go into and out
of that site,” Dover said.
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