Shady Cove Wake Up, Let us learn from Butte falls experience. Butte Falls, that now has the Highest costing water rate in the State of Oregon. And this is coming from just 2 years ago having had one of the lowest rates for municipal water. Let us use Butte Fall's experience for Shady Cove now to understand that an Engineering (HGE) firm can give a city much more than they really want, need, and can afford.

Vic Corchero April 27, 2001

  Subject: Trip to Butte Falls, What was learned:

  1. Total of water out of the springs is less than a 6 inch pipe full.

. 2. They have just had a flow meter installed at the output of the springs. Flow hovers around 350 gallons a minute or 500,000 gallons a day.

  3. Butte Falls per capita usage is far above USA per capita norms.

  4. Before the leaky pipes were replaced water usage was as high as 400 gallons per day per capita. This is very high, since the average for USA is 110 gallons per day per capita.

  5. After distribution leaks were repaired, usage was not reduced as much as was desired, remains still above 300 gallons per day per capita.

  6. Storage tanks serve many different functions:

     a. Reduce the amount of chlorine used due to the water retention time in the tank.

     b. The tanks will stabilize the water flow to town with a more  constant water pressure.

    c. For a few hours after a heavy rain, water from Ginger Springs can be turbid, the spring water input to the tanks is then shut off during these few hours, water source to the city of Butte Falls is then the water tanks.

    d. Provides natural settling at all times and for those times when the water is turbid which happen only for several hours after an especially hard down pour.

  7. Before water main leaks were repaired: The 250,000 gallon old storage tank was at times less than full. The 2 smaller tanks were insignificant.

  8. After leaks were repaired, and fullness of the tank better controlled: The old 250,000 gallon tank proved to be adequate for the present Butte Falls population of 400.

  9. With water usage per capita remaining the same, Butte Falls has now with the 250,000 gallon tank the capability of servicing a population of 1200 people.

  10. With an increase in population, the ratio of irrigated city park area per capita will be reduced. Then the per capita water usage will more nearly approach the US norm.

  11. With the new tank, water usage per capita reduced, the Ginger Springs at it's time tested volume of water, the Butte Falls water system as now engineered is  capable of servicing a population of 4166. Discounting Butte Falls present rate of declining population and assumed turn around this could take several hundred years to reach full capacity of water delivery to it's citizens.

  12. In observing the new 500,000 gallon storage tank, it's quality appears 1st rate. Barring any problems appearing when put into service, is it still worth it to this community to have this unneeded storage with its horrendous cost to these rural people?

13. Using the same formulation, Shady Cove, would need an extravagant 3 million gallon tank! Which equates almost directly to dollars. These rural folks have learned to survive with 1/10 of this amount of reserve water and control their living expenses.

Click to make comments or ask questions about anything on this website.

To contact the editor, click here: editor@rogueforum.com