A couple things caught my eye here.
- Water usage is down 14% in the last 17 years, that in spite of the growth of Moscow, Pullman, UI, and WSU during that timeframe.
- Pullman & WSU consume nearly 60% of the water on the Palouse.
- We’ve done a great job of conserving water here, despite what some say.
Water use on the Palouse declined last year with Washington State University leading the way. The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee has released its annual water pumpage report. The committee is comprised of WSU the University of Idaho and the cities of Pullman, Moscow and Palouse.
Total pumpage from the ground water supply dropped by over 3% in 2018 to 2.37 billion gallons. WSU lead the way with a pumpage drop of nearly 10%. The University of Idaho was the only entity to increase its water use last year with an uptick of just over 1%. Annual water use on the Palouse has dropped nearly 14% since 1992.
PBAC’s mission is to stabilize the region’s main groundwater supply the Grande Rhonde Aquifer which has been declining for decades.
Water pumpage down last year on the Palouse
Water use on the Palouse declined last year with Washington State University leading the way. The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee has released its annual water pumpage report. The committee is comprised of WSU the University of Idaho and the cities of Pullman, Moscow and Palouse.