Conscious Choice Seattle: Keeping Our Heads Above Water

June 2007 | On Our Radar

Keeping Our Heads Above Water

Examining the Future of Seattle’s Thirst

By Paul Constant

This month CC spoke with Paul Fleming, Strategic Advisor for Seattle Public Utilities, about Seattle’s changing needs for water in the face of climate change and population growth — and what every one of us can do to help.

Where does our water come from?

Two surface water sources are the primary providers of Seattle’s water. The Cedar River Watershed is south of North Bend, about forty miles from here. Its 91,330 acres, and it’s a protected watershed so access is strongly enforced. The second source is the Tolt River, which is northeast of Seattle near Carnation and Duvall. It’s smaller, around 12,500 acres. Roughly two thirds of our water comes from Cedar River, and about one third comes from the Tolt River.

What is Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) doing to adapt to climate change?

We’ve been discussing climate change for more than ten years. There are a couple of different ways to look at it. In terms of the watershed, there’s the water and then there’s the physical landscape. We need to do a little research on if and how climate change will affect the tree cover, or change the current species of trees. There will be some impact on the hydrology of the state—for instance, we’re liable to lose snowpack, which feeds the rivers, but there’s no way to say how it will affect precipitation, which is a major factor in the feeding of the watersheds.

We’ve worked with the University of Washington Water Resources Management Group, and their forecast is that climate change will affect the amount of water leaving us with less to supply. We’re also working with them on issues like drinking water supply, flood protection, and preserving salmon. We’re committed to continuing to fund additional research, getting as much information as possible, enhancing our flexibility and making the most out of what we have. We make decisions about where we need to make investments. If we were to invest forty millions dollars in something without the proper research, we could overreact or miss the problem entirely if we invest too quickly. Also, if our supply is decreased but you can reduce demand, the gap can be managed to a degree.

Is water the new oil?

I’ve heard a lot of smart folks say that, but the analogy just isn’t perfect, though it is a way to get attention paid to important hydrology issues. There are ways the world is really hurting for water, but the oil industry is private sector, and for most of the world, water is part of the public sector, so there are built-in constraints. For instance, SPU couldn’t mine water and sell it all over the world, and Exxon would have a hard time finding the water equivalent of an oil field, because the dynamics are so different. In localized areas, of course there will be conflicts over water: If you have two countries relying on a shared river for supply where water is scarce, there could very well be a conflict. On a global level, however, it’s hard to imagine how the distribution and transportation channels for water could be manageable. The main difference, of course, is that water is a precious resource and that oil isn’t necessary for life to continue to exist.

Will other areas depend on us as water becomes scarcer in other parts of the country?

This area is isolated in a way, compared to Los Angeles, which has to reach a long way for water. Los Angeles and Phoenix and Las Vegas all tap into Colorado, for instance. We supply 1.4 million people from two watersheds, and Everett and Tacoma both have their own, sizeable supplies of water. We almost intertied with Tacoma a little while ago, and at some point we could possibly combine with Everett and Tacoma, but as for the rest of the nation, we’re kind of in this weird contained niche area. Nobody else really relies on our supply.

What can individuals do to conserve water?

Seattle citizens should be commended for their conservation over the last 25 years. In that time, we’ve added 300,000 to 400,000 people, but we’re using the same amount of water that we were using 25 years ago.

This comes from plumbing code changes requiring low-flow toilets and other changes—we’ve kind of hardwired conservation into the system. If you want to do more, we’ve developed a website called savingwater.org that explores how you can save even more water in your home. Outside the home, you can be cognizant of how you manage your lawn, what kinds of plants you grow, and by making sure that you build up good soil that conserves water on its own. At work, you can be a leader and make recommendations to conserve—these conservation methods usually save money, too.

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