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Methow Valley News August 19, 1999 Endangered Species Coverage Schools wait for DOE's OK as ballfields dry up By Carol Stull Although Methow Valley schools have plenty of water in their well, Department of Ecology regulations have temporarily turned off the tap on irrigating campus landscaping and ball fields. School directors reacted sharply at last Wednesday’s meeting to what they perceived as "bad information" from government bureaucrats, but in the end agreed to jump through the required hoops before resuming irrigation. "We will not place the school district in jeopardy by stamping our foot and turning the water back on. We will try to legally remedy the situation," declared board chair Barbara Williston. For the past few years the school’s irrigation source has been the Wolf Creek ditch. Last month, under ditch shut-down orders from National Marine Fisheries Service, that option dried up. So school officials went back to watering out of their well, a practice which, according to Superintendent Suellen White, had previously gone on for decades. In response to inquiries from district maintenance men Greg Stanovich and Gunnar Johnson, the DOE declared Methow Valley schools must apply for a permit to temporarily transfer their irrigation rights from Wolf Creek ditch to the school well. Until proper paperwork has been completed the schools were not to use well water to irrigate their grounds. "The DOE has no business in this. We’re working within our water rights," said school director Sue Roberts. "The DOE doesn’t care what rights you have," countered director Rosey Hough. She also said she’d like to see the state law that applies to this situation. "You’re not going to kill any fish by sucking water out of the ground," declared director Jean Maples. The superintendent, taking issue with the prohibition, had called DOE’s Yakima office to find out what would happen if watering continued. "We have adequate water to do it and no time to wait for paperwork," she noted. After hearing some tongue-in-cheek references to "sending out the water police," White said she learned a fine of $100 per day could be issued after a series of less offensive steps had been taken. Maintenance man Johnson, noting he has "some trust issues with the administration," told the board he would not turn on any water until it is legal to do so. In return, the board instructed Johnson that all official school contact with the DOE must be done by the superintendent. White later said that as of last Friday (Aug. 13), she had applied for necessary permits and sent a letter of explanation in hopes of speeding up the process. In other business the board approved spending $2,600 to supplement Readiness to Learn grant funds. The supplement was necessary to continue the program at the same level. Opinion | Sports |
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