WSU prides itself on sustainability in resource use, yet is contributing to serious and substantial depletion of the Grande Ronde Aquifer.  The appeal of WSU water rights by Scotty Cornelius, Palouse Water Conservation Network, and Sierra Club’s Palouse Group challenges the notion that WSU can “have it all”.

Shown on this page are several graphs (click to enlarge) and photographs that contradict WSU’s claim to sustainability.  The graphs at left show dropping water levels in the wells  that provide water to Washington State University. 

Start with the specific problem of dropping water levels in wells used by Washington State University.  Graphs of water levels (“hydrographs”) in different wells dating to the 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s show the downward trend in feet per year.

In 2003, water was only withdrawn from wells 6 & 7, major sources of water for Washington State University.  (Wells 1 - 5 provide very little water for the University.)

Remember that there is no other supply of drinking water for Moscow-Pullman -- this is a “sole-source aquifer”.

The water is in layers of basalt.  Like layers of a cake, basalts that make up the Columbia Plateau are thousands of feet thick.  This water is thousands of years old, and called “fossil water.”  This water is precious.

Mining water from the Grande Ronde Aquifer, which is not recharged, depletes the aquifer.  Water levels are declining.  Pumping costs are becoming more expensive.  Like sucking from a straw in a glass of water, eventually the glass will be empty.

Mining aquifers is bad public policy and is against the law in Washington State.  How then can the state break its own law, risk the future of drinking water supplies for its people, and grant water rights to a state institution, Washington State University, to pump water for irrigating a golf course?

Mining the Grande Ronde Aquifer and threatening the water future of the region is part of a larger failure of Washington state to manage water for the public interest.  It's a serious problem that will only grow worse because of the lack of political leadership on water policy.  See, for example:

        ~  1338, the Municipal Water Law,

        ~  Odessa Aquifers, Crisis in Sustainability, and

        ~  Locke’s Legacy:  Water Crisis.

In the Columbia River watershed, mining water from basalt aquifers will inevitably lead to a crisis in sustainability.

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Washington State University

& Water Sustainability: Links

WSU Sustainability Office

The WSU Campus & Community Ecology Project works to develop a "Green Campus" and sustainability policy at Washington State University, creates living classrooms for the study of ecologically stable societies, and helps define a sustainable future for both humanity and the natural world through research and education

WSU:  Water Quantity and Policy

Overview

Washington's rivers, lakes, and groundwater sources provide water for industry, agriculture, residential uses and recreation, as well as support a diversity of ecosystems. Increased demands from an expanding population, industrial growth, increases in agricultural production and ecosystem management have resulted in localized, temporal shortages of available water. Agriculture is the single largest water user. However, inefficient irrigation methods are being replaced by modern science-based water saving techniques. Washington State University is engaged in research and educational outreach in water conservation techniques for agricultural operations. Across the state there are also ongoing community based watershed planning efforts in which many local WSU Extension faculty are actively engaged. Washington State University has a broad range of research activities, educational materials, and outreach programs to assist agriculturists and others to manage water quality and quantity.

Board of Regents

The Board of Regents consists of 10 members, one of whom is a student. All Regents are appointed by the Governor of the State of Washington, with the consent of the state senate, and except for the student member, hold their offices for terms of six years. The student member serves a one-year term from July 1 through June 30. The Student Regent position was created by Substitute Senate Bill 5517, passed by the 55th Legislature at the 1998 Regular Session, amending RCW 28B.20.100.