A6
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2022
Federal agency to study water
priorities for Willamette Basin
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — The U.S. Geo-
logical Survey is embarking on a
study to better understand water
supply and demand in the Willa-
mette Basin.
The study is part of a larger eff ort
by the agency to assess water avail-
ability and infrastructure nationwide
in response to climate change, pop-
ulation growth and other challenges.
To identify gaps in water avail-
ability, the agency is undertaking a
series of 10 Integrated Water Sci-
ence studies in basins across the
country, meeting with stakeholders
and monitoring interactions among
climate, human consumption and
hydrology.
The Willamette Basin was
selected as the fourth study area, fol-
lowing the Delaware, Upper Colo-
rado and Illinois river basins.
Tanya Trujillo, the U.S. Depart-
ment of the Interior’s assistant sec-
retary for water and science, said in
a statement the Willamette Basin
supports major cities, fertile agricul-
ture and ecologically important spe-
cies such as salmon, “making it an
ideal location to develop better sci-
ence for future decisions that will
aff ect both the environment and peo-
ple of the region.”
Nestled between the Oregon
Coast and Cascade mountain ranges,
the Willamette Valley spans 150
TO IDENTIFY GAPS IN
WATER AVAILABILITY,
THE AGENCY IS
UNDERTAKING
A SERIES OF 10
INTEGRATED WATER
SCIENCE STUDIES
IN BASINS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY,
MEETING WITH
STAKEHOLDERS
AND MONITORING
INTERACTIONS
AMONG
CLIMATE, HUMAN
CONSUMPTION AND
HYDROLOGY.
miles north to south and 60 miles
east to west. It is home to two-thirds
of the state’s population, includ-
ing the Portland metro area, and
$2.3 billion worth of agricultural
production.
The basin was chosen “because
its hydrologic and environmental
setting is representative of the chal-
lenges faced by confl icting water
demands between humans and eco-
systems — particularly salmon
— throughout the entire Pacifi c
Northwest,” according to the U.S.
Geological Survey .
Integrated Water Science stud-
ies date back to the 2009 SECURE
Water Act, which directed the
agency to establish a national water
availability assessment.
The agency uses “regionally
focused innovative data collec-
tion, research and modeling” to pro-
vide real-time data on water qual-
ity, quantity and usage. From there,
scientists can develop an Integrated
Water Availability Assessment pre-
dicting the amount of surface water
and groundwater available to bal-
ance each basin’s needs.
Don Cline, the associate director
for water at the U.S. Geological Sur-
vey, said water monitoring, research
and modeling will help the Willa-
mette Basin come up with innova-
tive solutions to issues that are com-
mon across many Northwest river
systems.
“For example, we expect it to
bolster our scientifi c understand-
ing of seasonal variation in precip-
itation, groundwater-surface water
interactions, snowpack infl uence
on summer low fl ows, watershed
response to severe fi re and harmful
algal bloom prediction,” Cline said.
The agency said it will begin
meeting with partners in the basin
later this spring.
Masks: Public Health
Department urges
people to respect
individual choices
Continued from Page A1
On Wednesday, the Asto-
ria School District B oard met
to take public comments from
families and make a determi-
nation on mask policies.
During a work session
before the meeting , Superin-
tendent Craig Hoppes, who
said he spoke to at-risk staff
and many concerned parents ,
made a recommendation to
the school board to make
indoor masking voluntary
and to pause contact tracing.
The school board voted
unanimously at the meeting
to approve Hoppes’ recom-
mendation, making indoor
masking optional for students
and staff .
The school board decided
to wait until April 4 – a week
after spring break – to allow
volunteers and visitors to
return to schools.
Hoppes also gave a pre-
sentation to the school board
and families that described
survey results on indoor
masking .
The survey found that
60% of school staff , 70.7%
of students and 74% of par-
ents favored making masks
optional indoors .
“No matter what the deci-
sion is tonight, whether it’s
masks on or masks off … we
still have to continue with
some mitigation strategies,”
Hoppes said. “It doesn’t go
away because masks poten-
tially could go away or con-
tact tracing could go away.”
Hoppes said the school
district will continue to mon-
itor for virus symptoms and
implement social distanc-
ing, high quality airfl ow and
sanitation eff orts. He added
that the district will keep an
eye on absences and docu-
ment outbreaks, but not to the
extent that administrators did
before.
School districts in Warren-
ton, Seaside and Knappa have
also elected to make mask-
ing optional for students and
staff . Administrators in Jew-
ell will discuss the school dis-
trict’s plan at Monday’s board
meeting.
“This potentially could be
a big change for us in what
we’ve done,” Hoppes said.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Masks are now optional at schools in Clatsop County.
“We don’t know what tomor-
row brings. We’re hoping
that what the forecast says is
accurate. But we’ve learned
over the last couple years to
be real fl exible with this.”
The Clatsop County Pub-
lic Health Department said
it would continue to work
closely with schools.
“Earlier in the pandemic,
we committed that our com-
munity’s children would
be able to safely return to
school ready to learn,” Margo
Lalich, the county’s interim
public health director, said
in a statement. “That time
has come and we continue
working closely with school
communities to ensure chil-
dren and teachers are in a safe
environment.”
While the indoor mask
mandate has expired —
except in health care settings
and other places where the
risk is especially high — the
Public Health Department
urged people to respect indi-
vidual choices.
The county said some peo-
ple may choose to continue to
wear masks for health rea-
sons, because they are care-
givers or because they may
not be eligible for vaccination.
Businesses can also
choose to require masks for
customers. The county is
off ering free “Masks are Wel-
come” signs via the county’s
website.
“We realize and respect
that our community has
diverse needs and that a
healthy and safe environment
may mean diff erent things
to diff erent people,” Lalich
said. “We encourage people
to continue to be respectful of
individual choices.”
Open houses: The building would wrap around a courtyard
Continued from Page A1
workers earning 60% to 80%
of the area median income.
That means, to be eligible,
most workers would need
to earn around $14.74 to
$19.65 an hour, or $30,660
to $40,880 annually, using
2021 fi gures.
The other 33 units would
be reserved for supportive
housing for clients of Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare
priced at 30% of area median
income.
The building c ould include
retail space, a possible child
care facility and a commu-
nity room on the ground fl oor
along Duane Street. A cov-
ered terrace would sit next
to the Garden of Surging
Waves.
The building would wrap
around a courtyard.
A parking lot with 21
spaces next to the American
Legion would be accessible
from Exchange .
After fi nalizing the basic
concept, Edlen & Co. will
begin conversations about
what will be needed from the
city to make the project fi nan-
cially feasible.
In order to apply to the
state for government fi nancial
help this year, the developer
must have “property control,”
such as an option to purchase
or a purchase and sale agree-
ment, by the time of the appli-
cation deadline on April 22.
There would be a pause
until August, when Edlen &
Co. expects to hear whether
the application for gov-
ernment funding has been
approved.
If the team secures state
funding this year, it would
resume the design process
and community engagement.
If the project is approved
by the city, c onstruction
could begin by the summer of
2023 and could be completed
by 2025.
Williams: ‘I have an
understanding of the
college’s fi nances’
Continued from Page A1
“I care about the college
and believe that my expe-
rience in public adminis-
tration and skills could be
a benefi t to the Board of
Education,” Williams said
in an email. “I have served
on the college budget com-
mittee for the past six
years, so I have an under-
standing of the college’s
fi nances.”
Prior to her role at the
hospital, Williams worked
in Clatsop County in sev-
eral positions, including
assistant county manager.
She also served as CEO
of Clatsop Care Health
District. She is an Asto-
ria High School graduate
with a bachelor’s degree
from Western Oregon
University and a master’s
degree from American
Public University.
Williams said she
hopes to see a capital fund
dedicated to the mainte-
nance of college-owned
facilities, which the board
has discussed, become a
priority for the college
this year.
Teaford-Cantor served
on the board for seven
years. The board did not
publicly disclose the
reason for her resigna-
tion , but Rosemary Bak-
er-Monaghan, the board’s
chairwoman ,
indicated
that her inability to attend
meetings played a role.
Water: City has applied
for a $13M loan from
Business Oregon to help
complete the fi nal phase
Continued from Page A1
“This is taking big
strides in us being pre-
pared to be able to get peo-
ple water, help them sur-
vive and get the town back
on its feet.”
The fi rst part of the proj-
ect, which began in 2019,
includes the installation
of seismic valves on each
of the city’s three water
tanks. When an earthquake
strikes, the valves will be
able to sense the move-
ment and automatically
shut off the tanks to pre-
vent the loss of drinking
water.
The city received a
$586,000 low-interest loan
from Business Oregon for
the fi rst phase. The loan
is off ered at a 1% interest
rate and a 50% forgivable
balance.
The third phase of the
project includes running a
fl exible water pipe along
U.S. Highway 101. La
Bonte said the concrete and
asbestos pipe that currently
runs through town will
likely fail during an earth-
quake, so the new line will
create redundancy.
The city has two metal
water tanks and one that is
concrete. Phase three will
include replacing the con-
crete tank.
The city has applied for
a $13 million loan from
Business Oregon to help
complete the fi nal phase.
La Bonte said the
low-interest loans have
allowed the city to keep
utility rate increases from
overburdening residents.
Between the public
works improvements and
the emergency manage-
ment work — particularly
in preparing safety and sur-
vival cache sites, La Bonte
believes the town will be
prepared for disasters .
“I think that this town
has come a long way from
what we were ever pre-
pared to handle post event,”
she said.