A6
THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, OcTObER 29, 2019
Cove Beach: ‘I feel there’s a big communication gap’
continued from Page A1
Paparoni filed a public records request to
access the data the water district used to come
to their conclusion.
Paparoni has a Ph.D. in economic geology
and Rozendaal has a Ph.D. in climate science.
They decided to use their expertise to examine
the data themselves.
They looked at multiple sources, including
data reported to the state of how much water
is produced by the spring, data recorded by
the water district using water meters and data
measured by independent weather stations in
Cove Beach and Manzanita.
They concluded there is no water shortage.
The water district could not be reached for
comment.
“The goal here is not to fix it. The goal
here is to maintain lack of development and
they’re doing it through the duration of an
emergency that doesn’t exist,” Paparoni said.
“And because an emergency doesn’t exist,
the moratorium is without a technical basis.
You cannot have a moratorium without an
emergency.”
David Livermore, a hydrogeologist who
has been coming to his family home in Cove
Beach since the 1960s, shared Paparoni’s
research on his website. He also came to the
same conclusion as Paparoni about the water
supply.
Livermore ran for a seat on the water dis-
trict’s board in May, but lost.
“I feel there’s a big communication gap,”
said Nancy Chase, a longtime homeowner in
Cove Beach.
She said she asked the water district to send
Paparoni’s report to their engineers for com-
ment. She is waiting to hear why their conclu-
sion was different from Livermore’s and Pap-
aroni’s, but has been given no estimate as to
how long it will take.
“We have laypeople on the board who are
doing their best to understand it. But there is
an undercurrent whenever I talk to anybody
... that short-term rentals and too many homes
are being put in comes up as a concern,”
Chase said.
Transparency
Like Paparoni, she wants to have open and
transparent discussions about the moratorium
and make sure decisions are based on facts.
They also both want meeting notices, min-
utes, data and other information to be made
public online so that everyone can have
access.
Chase said meeting notices are usually
posted at the post office, so people who live
out of town do not know when there is a
meeting.
Paparoni said the water district needs to
engage the community.
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
The county requires each property to provide 250 gallons of water per day from their own water source.
‘WE HAVE LAyPEOPLE ON THE bOARd WHO ARE
dOING THEIR bEST TO uNdERSTANd IT. buT THERE IS
AN uNdERcuRRENT WHENEVER I TALK TO ANybOdy
... THAT SHORT-TERM RENTALS ANd TOO MANy HOMES
ARE bEING PuT IN cOMES uP AS A cONcERN.’
Nancy Chase | longtime homeowner in Cove Beach
“All members of the community,” he said.
“So the ones that live there full time, the ones
that live there part time, the ones that rent, the
ones who have lots.”
Nihad Aweidah owns a parcel in Cove
Beach and attended the water district’s Octo-
ber board meeting to learn how they came to
the conclusion to declare a moratorium.
“They have not been forthcoming with
information,” he said.
Aweidah said he asked the water district
to create a centralized database to share infor-
mation, data and meeting minutes to increase
transparency. He said he offered to organize
the information on Google Drive.
He wants to develop his property, but is
hesitant about finding an alternate water sup-
ply, as it would increase his building costs sig-
nificantly. He is also unclear about the water
district’s timeline on improvements or how
long the moratorium will be in effect.
Paparoni and Chase said they have
expressed their concerns to Commissioner
Lianne Thompson, who represents South
County.
“It’s the fundamental level of public ser-
vice in our isolated rural neighborhood ...
and it’s a critical human need to have water
for personal use and to fight fires, wildfires,”
Thompson said of the water district. “So, it’s
essential that we have an accountable, trans-
parent government for all stakeholders.”
Thompson said there’s room for
improvement.
“If I had known about this I would have
never had bought the property because this
is incredible,” Paparoni said. “We bought the
property to retire and relax. But OK, we own it
now and the right thing to do is fix this and it’s
going to take a community effort to fix this.
“We shouldn’t have situations like this, it’s
just not right.”
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