MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Despite having the word "lake" in its name, the city of Moses Lake has a water problem.
"The aquifer is overpumped," Water Division Manager Chad Strevy said.
Strevy says the city gets its water from two aquifers, which are the Wanapum and the Grande Ronde.
"They are not recharging at a rate equal to or above pumping rates for the basin," Strevy said.
As one of the bread baskets of Washington, demand for water is high in the Columbia Basin. Strevy says in the winter, demand can be between 4 to 5 million gallons of water a day.
Yet when summer rolls around, he says that number can jump to 16 million gallons of water a day.
"The majority of the summertime is to irrigate grass," Strevy said. "That's where the water goes."
It's why the Moses Lake City Council's considering some changes to the water ordinances. Part of it would include extending conservation to being year-round rather than just in the months of June through September.
Another proposed change is switching from an odd-even irrigation calendar to designated days that would allow people to irrigate three days a week. It would also prohibit irrigation on Mondays and restrict it between 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, city council decided to table the ordinances. Strevy hopes they'll get them passed soon. However, he says these are just short-term solutions to a long-term problem.
"We're trying to make the water we do have last as long as possible," Strevy said.
City council is expected to go over the water ordinances again at their council meeting on June 13.
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