Where: Spokane County, Washington
Problem: The Town of Rockford faced water shortages due to the drought.
Solution: RCAC worked with the town to develop a Water Shortage Response Plan.
The Town of Rockford is a small rural community located in south east Spokane County. There are 215 water connections and approximately 500 citizens. RCAC has worked with the town to build technical, managerial and financial capacity for many years. RCAC staff performed an income survey for the town in 2012 and has continued to build a relationship with the community through changes in both staff and elected officials.
Recently, the community faced a challenge to address declining ground water sources and needed to develop a Water Shortage Response Plan (WSRP) quickly. One of the town’s wells, a primary water source, had a declining water level and began to have technical issues. It was no longer viable and the town did not have funds to invest in well rehabilitation so it needed to be removed as a drinking water source.
In the summer of 2015, with the well shut down, under drought conditions and high seasonal temperatures, RCAC and the town realized the need to put water use restrictions in place. When the Governor of the State of Washington declared a statewide drought in May 2015 the community was already trying to deal with the loss of the well. By late June 2015 their main well, the remaining approved drinking water source, began to show signs of depletion. The town needed a WSRP put in place quickly to address the drought’s impacts and to protect the remaining approved drinking water source. A WSRP, including a good communication plan, informs the community that there is an issue with their drinking water source and how they can make the effort to avoid an even greater issue—no drinking water. With RCAC’s assistance, city staff and elected officials worked together to draft the WSRP and it was adopted in August.
The town applied for state emergency funding to determine if the well can be rehabilitated to provide safe drinking water to the community.
