either you bring the water to Lacey or you bring Lacey to the water

A week and a half ago, regarding a new development scheme in Lacey, I wrote,

Lacey is definitely growing--but perhaps to the point where it will slowly devour itself. As some of the comments over at the article attest, the city hasn't exactly solved its water problems.

A story in today's Olympian underlines the understatement.

This much is known: The city produced 3 billion gallons of water and sold 2.5 billion gallons last year, Water Resources Manager Peter Brooks said. That leaves 500 million gallons, or 16.7 percent, unaccounted for.

"If there’s water that we could be serving to our customers that’s been stolen or leaking through our pipes, we should spend some time and effort to find it," Brooks said.

The project to find the missing water is budgeted to cost $125,000.

Brooks acknowledges the city likely will never recapture 100 million gallons of water, or 3 percent, because no system is perfect. The city provides water to about 20,000 homes and businesses both within and outside the city limits.

"There’s no such thing as a totally tight pipe," he said.

In the comments, city councilmember and moped soldier Graeme Sackrison explains that although 16.7% loss is "unacceptable," it was well within regulation--up until this year, as 10% is now considered too much. To comply, the city has to find at least 200 million gallons.




[Obscure title reference explained here.]