Paso Robles water future is bright
By Paso Robles Public Works Director Dick McKinley
Lake Nacimiento.
–The City of Paso Robles, and our partners in the Lake Nacimiento water project, are in the final stages of completing the “full subscription” process. This is a very important step in realizing the full value of the investment in this major water supply. Currently, Paso Robles partners with the City of San Luis Obispo, Templeton CSD, Atascadero Mutual Water Company, and CSA 10a (Cayucos via SLO County) on this water project. As part of the full subscription action, two new partners are joining. The Bella Vista Mobile Home Park and the Santa Margarita Mutual Water Company were originally part of the project planning, were included in the original environmental analysis, and are now becoming official partners.
Bella Vista will be using 10 acre feet per year, and the Santa Margarita Mutual Water Company will be using 80 acre feet per year. An acre foot is a formula used to measure large quantities of water, and represent one acre of area with water one foot deep, or about 325,800 gallons of water.
The City of Paso Robles currently has an allocation of 4,000 acre feet per year, and will increase that allocation to 6,488 acre feet per year with full subscription. That will provide a supply that averages about 5.8 million gallons of water per day. An additional benefit of full subscription is that if there is surplus water available (which would happen if the partners didn’t use their full allocation) then that surplus water could be sold to other parties, including for irrigation or possible infiltration into the Paso Robles Basin aquifer.
Paso Robles currently has three water supplies – most cities have one or two – which includes our deep aquifer wells, our Salinas River underflow wells, and the Lake Nacimiento water. The city is currently working on the design for our fourth supply – recycled water from the new wastewater treatment plant. When the City adds the tertiary treatment the wastewater output from the plant can be used for irrigation of parks, golf courses and agriculture.
The recycled water will meet all health standards for everything except drinking. Having the fourth supply could help reduce well pumping from agriculture and recreation users, and help the Paso Robles Basin aquifer to be more sustainable. Currently, more water is pumped from the aquifer than is naturally replenished each year. Recently, the basin was declared to be in critical overdraft. With four water supplies, the City of Paso Robles will be well situated for the future, and will be able to meet our forecasted growth projections, as well as be a solid regional player in helping to address the overdraft of the basin.
Oh boy, that's great.
You can say there's an overdraft and I guess if you say it enough times, it makes it so? Regardless, why are we paying more and more money every year for water if we have all this wonderful abundance? When is enough, enough? The progressives in the city of Paso Robles won't tell you to your face, but the answer is: There never is enough money. Pay baby, pay … and pay … and pay …
Oh, and I'm waiting for the day when they start selling the water.
That will be just terrific.
AMEN! Daryle, you just said what so many of us are thinking! Ask yourself why citizens are being told to cut back on water useage daily, and at the same time Paso Robles is adding more and more big water users, (huge hotels) all over the North County. In case you didn't know, another water park is also going in East of Paso as well. Could these additions be about money????? Unbelieveable…………
Where is a water park going in?
Come to the Paso Robles City Council meeting this coming Tuesday, March 15th, at 6:30 in the library building, where the water issues in the city will be discussed. Please come and make your voices heard!
When the taxpayers of Paso pay for the tertiary treatment of waste water and the separate purple piping necessary to pipe it throughout the city, we will not be doing it so we can supply vineyards and wineries in the county with water. So, stop saying it is for agriculture, Mr. McKinley. Agriculture will not pay one penny of the costs, and should not have seemingly automatic rights to the water.
Oh boy, that's great.
You can say there's an overdraft and I guess if you say it enough times, it makes it so? Regardless, why are we paying more and more money every year for water if we have all this wonderful abundance? When is enough, enough? The progressives in the city of Paso Robles won't tell you to your face, but the answer is: There never is enough money. Pay baby, pay … and pay … and pay …
Oh, and I'm waiting for the day when they start selling the water.
That will be just terrific.
AMEN! Daryle, you just said what so many of us are thinking! Ask yourself why citizens are being told to cut back on water useage daily, and at the same time Paso Robles is adding more and more big water users, (huge hotels) all over the North County. In case you didn't know, another water park is also going in East of Paso as well. Could these additions be about money????? Unbelieveable…………
Where is a water park going in?
Come to the Paso Robles City Council meeting this coming Tuesday, March 15th, at 6:30 in the library building, where the water issues in the city will be discussed. Please come and make your voices heard!
When the taxpayers of Paso pay for the tertiary treatment of waste water and the separate purple piping necessary to pipe it throughout the city, we will not be doing it so we can supply vineyards and wineries in the county with water. So, stop saying it is for agriculture, Mr. McKinley. Agriculture will not pay one penny of the costs, and should not have seemingly automatic rights to the water.