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In Shady Cove, every drop counts By MELISSA MARTIN SHADY COVE - Leesa Beavers reads her water meter every night before she goes to bed. She's become a master at conserving water - taking clothes to the laundromat to save 90 gallons, washing dishes by hand and letting shrubs dry up on their half-acre property. "I check the numbers every night to see how much water we've used that day," Beavers said.
She lives in one of 30 homes in Quail Run and Angler's Cove subdivisions that have run out of water. Their shared wells dried up not long after the summer's hottest day, Aug. 9, when Medford's temperature soared to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Residents - some of whom live a stone's throw from the river - are trucking water from Medford and storing it in holding tanks as a temporary solution to their dry taps. They are among a growing number of residents with water worries in a city that has no municipal system. Shady Cove relies on 900 private or shared wells, all drilled within a few miles of each other. "This kind of experience makes you appreciate water much more," said Don Biggs, a computer software developer who has spent $1,000 this month installing water storage tanks. "I think everybody should have to conserve water to make us see how much we take it for granted," the Quail Run resident said. "We waste water without even thinking about it." Biggs also has become keenly aware of water consumption. When he takes a shower in the morning, he collects the cold water while he's waiting for the temperature to warm and later dumps the bucket on his trees. He and his wife limit laundry to one load a week now that their water bill has jumped from $25 to $120 in a month. "Water is becoming very rare," he said. For Quail Run neighbors, the immediate solution is paying delivery companies to stock 8,000-gallon storage tanks that supply water for about 15 homes. Residents in Angler's Cove, on the river across from Bel Di's Restaurant, also purchase water for their storage tanks because one shared well dropped to 4 gallons per minute and a newly-drilled well only produces 2.5 gallons per minute. But real estate agent and developer Mike Malepsy has come up with a solution he hopes will dovetail with a continuing effort to create a municipal water district in Shady Cove. Malepsy wants to place a portable water treatment plant by the Rogue River and purchase the city's right to stored water from Lost Creek Lake. Neighbors would share the cost of the estimated $100,000 project - about $2,500 per property owner. Then if a municipal water system is built in the future, the Quail Run/Angler's Cove plant could be incorporated in or the equipment sold and neighbors partly reimbursed, he said. "I'm trying to come up with solutions and options for the neighborhood," Malepsy said. "But because I developed the subdivisions, I've got lots left to sell that I can't sell until I can supply them with good water." The Shady Cove City Council recently asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers if the city could increase its stored water from 3 acre-feet to about 25, estimated to cost $12,000 to $15,000, which would be paid by the neighbors, not the city, said Shady Cove Mayor Tom Anderson. The city is willing to share its water storage rights with any residents who have the money and the necessary proximity to the Rogue, he said. "This is an emergency measure to get water to the neighbors because they've run out," Anderson said. "The city will do whatever it can to help people get water." But for Beavers, the plan may be too expensive. She's afraid if she stops paying her share of the water delivery costs, neighbors will have to carry more of the load. "I'm not willing to throw my neighbors to the wolves," said Beavers, who has become the "watermaster" of the subdivision, reading meters and collecting payments. "They're in the same boat my husband and I are in, trying to raise children on limited incomes." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail mmartin@mailtribune.com |
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