Keep Our Water Safe Committee

Laurel Hines, chairperson •10371 Lake Drive SE • Salem, Oregon 97306

Phone: (503) 371-8892 • Email:

Update on efforts to protect our area’s groundwater

January 12, 2007

Dear Neighbors:

Here’s a status report on the 217 acre proposed Liberty Road subdivision, just north of Spring Lake Estates. The Marion County Planning Commission has held two hearings on this Measure 37 claim. A third, and probably final, hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 pm (555 Court St., room to the right of the double doors as you enter the building).

The Keep Our Water Safe (KOWS) committee hopes that you will be able to come to the hearing. No public testimony will be taken, but we want to continue to show the Commission that lots of people in our area are concerned about the threat this subdivision poses to our groundwater. Many thanks to those who came to the first two hearings and either testified or simply said, “I support the opposition.”

I don’t know what the Planning Commission will decide. The hydrogeologist and attorney hired by the KOWS committee have presented persuasive reasons why the subdivision application should either be denied or put on hold until an extensive groundwater study of the area has been completed and reviewed by an independent geologist.

Even the applicant’s hydrogeologist, Malia Kupillas, has testified that more information is needed about water availability, usage, and problems in this area before the development moves forward. So it seems unthinkable that the Planning Commission would ignore the recommendations of both the applicant, Leroy Laack, and the opposition, which includes the KOWS committee.

Unfortunately, this appears likely to happen. I attended a Commission work session on Wednesday where the Laack subdivision was discussed, along with Measure 37 issues in general. It was disappointing to hear the county legal counsel say that the applicant technically has complied with the MarionCounty groundwater ordinance as it now stands, so no additional study needs to be conducted.

They seem prone to let us face the risk, leaving it up to the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to solve water problems when they occur after the subdivision is developed.

This flies in the face of reality. Many nearby property owners already have had to deepen or replace their wells. Even OWRD states that 43 wells in that area could cause a significant decline in the aquifer, plus affect the springs and lake.

If 43 additional wells are drilled, as Laack intends to do in the first phase of the subdivision, the groundwater problems in our area are at high risk of getting worse. The creek that feeds SpringLake may dry up or have its flow lessened drastically.

—over—

MarionCounty knows that the current groundwater ordinance is inadequate. A Sensitive Groundwater Overlay (SGO) task force has been formed that will make recommendations for improving the ordinance. Improvements are needed because: Farm use areas like the proposed subdivision never have been studied; groundwater monitoring studies haven’t been conducted as planned; assumptions about recharge rates and daily household usage are shaky; dense development is allowed without accounting for the large margin of error in the ordinance’s formulas.

So the KOWS committee has been arguing that the Planning Commission needs to make sure that there is adequate water for the subdivision, and not rely on a simplistic formula that the applicant passed with some “fuzzy math.” I’ll explain.

The Laack development has an average lot size of 5.05 acres, just above the 5.0 acre cutoff for an extensive hydro review. This was accomplished by creating one large 92 acre lot and 43 small lots that are mostly two to three acres. But the large lot sits atop a marine sediment aquifer that is separate from the basalt aquifer that would feed the 43 wells on the small lots.

What this means is that the county may approve the subdivision on the basis of a marginal result of a crude formula, rather than the reality of how much water is really available for the subdivision. The water under the 92 acre lot isn’t available to the 43 small lots. However, the formula assumes that it is.

It’s been frustrating to hear discussion suggesting that dominant members of the Planning Commission would elevate the developer’s right to subdivide under Measure 37 far above the needs of existing property owners to protect their rights to adequate water.

If the subdivision application is approved without requiring that a hydrogeological study be conducted, we would like to appeal the decision. The KOWS attorney, Jeff Kleinman, is confident that we have strong grounds for an appeal to either the county commissioners or the Land Use Board of Appeals. He has won some similar cases on appeal for citizen groups like ours.

This will take more money, however. If the decision goes against us next Tuesday, I’ll get an estimate of how much it will cost to file an appeal. Then we’ll let area residents know how much money we have, and how much we likely will need.

Thanks to everyone who has helped out by contributing, testifying, or otherwise assisting with this challenging effort to keep Spring Lake Estates, Twin Hill Estates, and the rest of our neighborhood livable. A few people from the combined areas have generously contributed significant funds toward our efforts. They recognize that without water, none of us could live here.

We’re not opposed to wise development. But excessiveunwise development that causes our wells or Spring Creek to go dry can’t be allowed to happen.

Sincerely,

Laurel Hines