OCTOBER 1, 2003
Smoke Signals 2003 water feature
5
ere In Grand Ronde, Water Is The New Gold
r dance with the local water authority.
Ml I IHM Il.lllll Jill III ' 1 UTT" 1 I
mm& (mm Mk warn, mm m k?$m Gftm$?
3
ize, the Tribe bought and trans
ferred irrigation rights into munici
pal rights.
The viability of taking water from
the South Yamhill River was a ma
jor sticking point. According to the
web page of Oregon Waterwatch,
the South Yamhill is among "10 Or
egon Rivers with Nothing Left to
Give." And while the Tribes' pro
posed a water treatment plant that
was upstream of the sections of the
South Yamhill that are listed by the
Oregon Department of Environ
mental Quality (DEQ) as troubled
by excessive temperature and bac
teria, Scott's plan called for the
Tribes to replace water needed dur
ing October with irrigation rights
during the critical, low-flow periods
of July-September.
"In addition," said Scott, "the Tribe
voluntarily cancelled overlapping
and unused irrigation water rights
which were returned to the stream
for fish and water quality during the
irrigation system."
In 2001, GRCWA made improve
ments to the collection system for
the springs that supply the area
with water, including adding a wa
ter collection system to make a third
spring a useful provider.
In 2002, the Tribes began work
on a water treatment plant, which
will process 150 gallons per minute
and will supply the casino with all
of its water needs.
An inter-tie was built to the com
munity system to provide fire pro
tection for the casino.
"It is also a benefit to the commu
nity," said Scott, "by providing a
redundant source for the commu
nity during emergencies."
In the end, the Tribes had
enough water to cover the casino
year around, freeing up nearly
3,000,000 gallons a month for the
non-Tribal community.
None of this came cheap.
"There are always solutions to
water (availability) problems," said
former Tribal Housing Authority
Director Linda Layden,
"but the solutions can be costly."
The Tribe spent:
H $4 million for the 500,000-gal-lon
tank, the 12-inch water trans
mission main, Grand Ronde Road
improvements, improvements to
the community's 100,000-gallon
Rowell Creek water holding tank,
and improvements to the
community's springs.
B $1.35 million to build the new
treatment plant for the casino,
slated to be on line by year's end.
B $225,000 to design and engi
neer the treatment plant.
B $75,000 for the necessary wa
ter rights.
The community has been put
ting money into upgrades for
30 years, according to Ekstrom, but
in recent years in response to
Tribal growth, the community wa
ter system spent:
B $415,000 for construction of
both a 50,000 and a 500,000-gal-
lon tank in 1995-96.
B $82,761 in 2001 for spring re
construction of 3 and 4 springs,
plus more than a mile of pipeline
construction.
The situation is no longer dire to
day in Grand Ronde. In fact, the
Tribes are already building a con
venience store that will run off of the
water from the new treatment plant;
and Tribal Council is in the process
of interviewing architects for a po
tential expansion of the Spirit
Mountain Lodge that will add about
140 rooms and possibly a swimming
pool. This expansion (being consid
ered but not approved by Tribal
Council at Smoke Signals' press
time) also will run off of water from
the new treatment plant, -according
to Tribal Vice Chair Reyn Leno.
While today's supply is anticipated
to serve the casino, the Tribes and
the community for the next ten
years, regional supplies could very
well play a part in filling the future
needs of this area.