SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018
5 A
The history and hope of Woahink Lake
W
hile all water belongs
to the public, persons
seeking to use water
need to obtain authorization
from the Oregon Water
Resources Department (WRD),
unless the source is a municipal-
ity. WRD’s mission is to serve
the public by practicing and
promoting responsible water
management.
Woahink Lake has received a
great deal well-deserved atten-
tion lately. Located 2.4 miles
south of Florence, its surface is
38 feet above sea level. It is 74
feet deep, about 36 feet below
sea level — the deepest lake on
the Oregon Coast.
The name Woahink is proba-
bly an anglicized form of a
Suslaw Native word on survey
maps going back to 1857. The
surveyor hired Native helpers
from Fort Umpqua who provid-
ed the indigenous name.
Woahink Lake, was formed
long ago by migrating coastal
sands. Its drain, Woahink Creek,
flowed west, across land des-
tined to be part of Highway 101.
To avoid constructing a bridge,
a dam, raising the lake level
approximately 7 feet, was creat-
ed over which vehicles could
travel.
Creek flows were rerouted
through an outlet-control-struc-
ture (OCS) into a hand-dug-
ditch, useable as long as the
OCS is maintained and the lake
is kept at a certain and definite
level, as authorized by a 1939
easement.
Should the state abandon the
OCS, or fail to properly main-
tain it, the easement is automat-
ically terminated and the land
reverts back to the property
owner.
There is no problem with
water withdrawal. Woahink
Lake can supply enough water
to serve the area. Ground water
discharge, as subsurface water
infiltration, maintains lake level
and stream flow; seasonal water
level fluctuation is around 1.5
feet per year and lake turnover
is 1.2 years.
A
Memorandum
of
Understanding (MOU) memori-
alizes discussions and actions
taken between Dunes City and
the State of Oregon to resolve
mined minimum flow rates for
Woahink Creek; the Department
of Human Services, which regu-
lates public water systems and
administers
the
federal
Environmental
Protection
Agency’s drinking water treat-
GUEST VIEWPOINT
B Y
S USIE N AVETTA AND J OHN S TEAD
W OAHINK L AKE A SSOCIATION B OARD MEMBERS
water right problems regarding
use of water from the lake and
its OCS. The MOU indicates
that ODOT quitclaimed its
interest in the OCS to the prop-
erty owner who intends to quit-
claim his interest to Dunes City.
The city has taken no action
regarding the MOU.
Woahink Lake is managed by
five state agencies and Dunes
City, including the Department
of Fish and Wildlife, who deter-
ment
requirements;
the
Department of Environmental
Quality, which monitors water
quality
degradation;
the
Division of State Lands, which
authorizes use of land under
water (the lake bottom); and the
Water Resources Department
(WRD), which administers
water use with impartiality of
interest, and in a consistent and
coordinated manner.
Dunes City holds six differ-
ent water right permits. The two
oldest permits make enough
water available to supply a pop-
ulation of 25,000.
The first permit, approved in
1969, proposed a water supply
system to pump up to 1.4 cfs
(cubic feet per second) from
Woahink Lake for domestic use.
The second permit, approved in
1979, authorized up to 1.5 cfs
from Woahink Lake for munici-
pal use.
The third permit, issued in
2005, authorized the use of
Woahink Lake for storage of up
to 419 acre-feet of water from
Woahink Creek for “multiple
purposes” from Oct. 1 through
July 31 of each year.
The fourth permit, issued in
February, 2005, authorized the
construction of a reservoir and
storage of up to 410.0 acre-feet
of water for multiple purpose
[sic].
The fifth permit, also issued
in February of 2005, authorizes
use of the stored water for creek
flow augmentation.
Finally, the sixth permit,
issued in December 2005, sub-
allocated WRD’s responsibili-
ties to Dunes City by adding
216 points of diversion to the
City's 1968 permit.
Dunes City thus controls the
domestic use of water from
Woahink Lake; requiring that
citizens who do not have water
rights sign up for its “Shared
Domestic
Water
Supply
Program”, at an initial cost of
$500 plus $100 annually.
We hope this helps clarify the
state of Woahink Lake, its histo-
ry and the permits and
approvals that were put in place
to guide its future.
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint
submissions on this and other top-
ics are always welcome as part of
our goal to encourage community
discussion and exchange of per-
spectives.)
LETTERS
Letters
from aA
R ECYCLING GETTING
HARDER AND HARDER
I have been recycling ink jet car-
tridges and phones for close to three
years. I started the fundraiser in May
2014, and to date we have raised
$979.22.
The recycle company takes less and
less of our ink jet cartridges. We last
sent in 191 ink jets — they accepted
10. Before that, we sent in 324 and they
took 18.
I have searched for another recycle
source only to find the same problem.
I am a Master Recycler and keep
hoping for change in the system. I will
keep working the recycle program for
now.
S IUSLAW N EWS
If I send in the wrong ink jet or
phone, sometimes they deduct money
for my mistake.
I was told we can get $3 for ink jet
cartridges at Staples — only if they are
purchased from them
Thoughts, please?
—Pat Rongey
Florence
I NACCURACIES PORTRAY
NRA IN BAD LIGHT
This is in response to the Letter to
the Editor from Charles Pennington
“Learn the Art of Compromise,” Jan.
10), regarding an imagined meeting
between Generals Lee and Grant in late
1864 at Grant’s home in Galena, Ill.
The letter is so full of inaccurate and
false statements that I scarcely know
where to begin. I thought it was a
spoof, and I’m still not sure.
First, Lee and Grant only met once
prior to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox
in April 1865. That was during the
Mexican War, in the late 1840s.
Had Lee attempted such a visit, he
would have either been shot or cap-
tured.
Lee’s in-laws were not named
“Arlington.” Arlington was the name of
the family estate; Lee’s in-laws were
named “Custis” and were descended
from Martha Custis Washington, our
very first, First Lady.
Lastly, compromise had nothing to
do with ending the War Between the
States; the transfer of Arlington had
nothing to do with it. It was taken by
the Union Army and never returned or
paid for.
Mr. Pennington goes on to assert that
the NRA is some sort of de facto leg-
islative body.
Once again, not true.
The NRA is simply an organized
group of like minded individuals who
seek to legally influence various elect-
ed officials. This is no different from
groups such as The Sierra Club, Trout
Unlimited, The VFW, the American
Legion and Planed Parenthood, to
name just a few.
This is unfortunately a common tac-
tic used by those opposed to the rights
of law abiding citizens to own firearms;
if the facts don't suit them, they just
make them up.
C LIMATE CHANGE ISN ’ T
— Keith Herring
PARTISAN ISSUE
Florence Mayor Joe Henry wrote in
a response letter (“Focusing on Local
Issues has Broader Impact,” Jan. 13),
that “neither the Mayor of San
Francisco nor I can have much impact
on Global Warming.”
Of course you can.
Every single person has an impact
— and the more people in the city, the
bigger the impact is. The United States
is second only to China in the amount
of greenhouse gasses we release into
the atmosphere.
Therefore, we should make the most
amount of effort to cut down on the
damage we do to the planet.
Also, to become a “Climate Mayor”
is an environmental decision.
Period.
And as such, every mayor should
join in.
Climate change is not a partisan
issue. It is a global crises that every one
of us needs to address.
Florence
—Liat Meller
—Stan Easter
Florence
A MUSIC FESTIVAL
I WON ’ T FORGET
I had the privilege of attending
Sunday’s performance of the Winter
Music Festival at the Florence Events
Center. Marty Adams and Friends were
phenomenal and the gospel choir
brought the house down.
It was an experience I will not for-
get.
We have so many talented people
and are so blessed that they share those
talents with the community.
Hats off to Kevin Rhodes, Marty
Adams and Bob and Bonnie McDuffee
for all their work, talent and dedication,
as well as those not mentioned here
who volunteered their time and talents
to help bring this festival to our town.
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