HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02 Water Emergency DeclarationCITY TOF LJ
V B Nancy Backus, Mayor
WASHINGTON 25 West Main Street * Auburn WA 98001-4998 * www.auburnwa.gov * 253-931-3000
WATER EMERGENCY DECLARATION 2021-02
A DECLARATION OF STAGE I WATER EMERGENCY
IN THE HIDDEN VALLEY/BRAUNWOOD
NEIGHBORHOOD, FOR THE PROTECTION OF
PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE
WHEREAS, RCW 35.21.210 authorizes the City to control and regulate its
water supply; and
WHEREAS, RCW 38.52 and ACC 13.14 authorize the Mayor to declare
emergencies and to exercise emergency powers related to the City's water supply
including the implementation of water conservation measures when necessary to
protect the health, welfare and safety of the City's water users; and
WHEREAS, ACC 13.14.030 establishes different stages of water emergencies
depending on the immediacy and pervasiveness of a water shortage, and authorizes the
Mayor to determine the geographical area(s) of the City's water supply that may be
affected by a shortage and corresponding emergency; and
WHEREAS, by an agreement in 1990, the City accepted the water system
serving the Hidden Valley/Braunwood (HVB) neighborhood into its water supply. The
HVB water supply comes from a single well that has legally binding limits on its water
production amounts to serve the 12 residential customers. Given these legal and
logistical water supply limitations, the 1990 agreement included provisions requiring
HVB residents to (inter alia) restrict outdoor irrigation to a maximum of 7 properties at
Declaration 2021-02
August 9, 2021
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CITY OF
AUBURN Nancy Backus, Mayor
x
WASHINGTON 25 West Main Street * Auburn WA 98001-4998 * www.auburnwa.gov * 253-931-3000
a time, using no more than 10 gallons of water per minute; and
WHEREAS, given observed and documented water usage patterns, the yearly
average water use by HVB residents is expected to be 450 gallons per day. Since the
spring of 2021, however, the water use by HVB residents has nearly tripled this
expected average, to 1,025 gallons per day; and
WHEREAS, this recent excessive water use by HVB residents greatly exceeds
the expected water use average and the water use restrictions in the 1990 agreement;
and
WHEREAS, this rate of HVB water consumption amounts to a Stage I water
emergency under ACC 13.14.030.A because continued water consumption at this rate
will result in the HVB water system running out of water entirely by the fall of 2021,
potentially leaving HVB residents with no reliable water supply;
WHEREAS, to protect the public health, safety and welfare of HVB residents,
and pursuant to the above legal authorities,
NOW THEREFORE I, Nancy Backus, Mayor of the City of Auburn, declare
as follows:
Section 1. To protect the public health, safety and welfare of HVB residents
and pursuant to RCW 35.21.210, RCW 38.50 and ACC 13.14, I do hereby declare a
Stage I water emergency in the HVB neighborhood.
Declaration 2021-02
August 9, 2021
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CITY OF
AUBURN Nancy Backus, Mayor
Y
WASHINGTON 25 West Main Street * Auburn WA 98001-4998 * www.auburnwa.gov * 253-931-3000
Section 2. Pursuant to Section 1, I hereby direct the City of Auburn public
works department to engage in public education efforts with HVB residents regarding
the necessity and benefits of their water conservation.
Section 3. I further determine that pursuant to ACC 13.14.030.F, the
urgency of the anticipated water shortage in HVB constitutes exigent circumstances
that necessitate immediate implementation and enforcement of the requirements in a
Stage I Anticipated Water Shortage emergency.
Dated and signed: 11�' 9 - 2'
CITY OF AUBURN
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Declaration 2021-02
August 9, 2021
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