Last month I had the good fortune to attend the annual Sustainable Water Management Conference, held this year in Seattle by the American Water Works Association. Right up my alley, it was music to my ears.

Some lasting impressions:

First, a 200-year evolution of water management in the U.S.: The early 1800s was the era of opportunistic utilization and the “Water Supply City.” Within 100 years came engineered storage and conveyance, the “Sewered City;” water treatment technologies to prevent disease arrived soon after.

In the early 20th century came the “Drained City,” since no one imagined so much water could be a good thing. Many decades later — by the later 1900s — we had the “Waterway City,” when attention turned to the streams and rivers themselves.

The turn of the millennium brought the “Water Cycle City,” with increasing understanding of connections between surface and ground water supplies and weather. This is the stage we’re in now, according to the speaker — a promoter of “OneWater” holistic planning and management.

The “Water Sensitive City” has restored ecologic and hydrologic balance (such as with stormwater infiltration), to be achieved someday in the future. In this author’s vision, “silo thinking” by water management stakeholders must end. Water management can be applied in almost every conversation—and should be.

Right after that talk, the first person I met was a utility manager who runs an off-stream reservoir in addition to an aquifer storage and recovery facility — both ideas being seriously considered in the Dungeness. With 400 in attendance, I was amazed at the coincidence. I doubt I’ll ever visit those facilities in Peace River, Fla., but it turns out there are fabulous projects pretty much everywhere.

For example, outdoor use of reclaimed water is almost passé in southern California, Colorado, Florida, the Middle East and elsewhere. The latest thing is drinking it, particularly in beer — now available in Portland, Ore., for example (of course).

I learned that one city contemplating such “direct potable reuse” surveyed its population and found that only 40 percent of their residents drank city tap water. That city is now working hard to gain trust before even suggesting the addition of reclaimed water to their mix. Perhaps they should start by adding it to beer …

I heard the business case for water reuse and water supply diversification: Use triple-bottom-line analysis and calculate the social and environmental costs in addition to the economic. A cost-benefit analysis should include the cost of no water — avoided costs and trade-offs. There are always more people benefiting from water projects than there are paying for them.

In the Athabasca Basin in Canada, tree rings show the variability of its climate and water availability in recent centuries. Peak water means the point at which overall water storage in glaciers peaks. (Globally, we’ve passed it already.)

Small increases in temperature don’t seem extreme but that’s exactly what they are – new “extreme” highs. Portland pointed out that water works are designed to handle a range of temperatures with a certain frequency of extreme highs and low, and those conditions no longer exist.

Denver is now prioritizing irrigation in its parks using reclaimed water for beneficial uses besides basic aesthetics.

Aspen, Colo., has many similarities to Sequim in terms of size, reliance on snowmelt, and seasonal conflicts between domestic and agriculture/ industrial needs. One little difference – Aspen generates $900,000 annually in revenue for water supply management with its stormwater fees, while Sequim has no revenue program for stormwater.

Conservation is routinely the first choice in boosting a region’s water supply. Neighboring agencies have learned to partner and use the same branding to get their mutual “Save Water” message across with techniques ranging from mascots to incentive programs, which can result in discounted water bill.

In Houston, residents are facing land subsidence from decades of over-pumping groundwater from gravel layers underneath surficial clay — yet another incentive to conserve. South Texas started the “Weekly Water Advice” hashtag on Twitter so residents are made aware of conditions before they start irrigating their lawn.

Integrated Resource Plans are becoming more common, applying the OneWater concept to local and watershed-scale planning. OneWater L.A. is a shining example, bringing together 50-odd water, sewer, stormwater, and irrigation agencies in Los Angeles County.

We heard it’s good policy to mainstream your resiliency goals into everyday asset management and capital improvement planning. Prioritize projects with multiple benefits.

Update your water plan internally as much as possible before hiring consultants, to keep the conversation active among staff. Plan for multiple futures, using different potential supply scenarios. Use trigger points to see which supply path you’re on.

Embrace uncertainty, don’t fight it. Credit ratings will decrease if insurers deem a city too vulnerable because it hasn’t planned well.

As the conference concluded I was heartened that Sequim already has an evolving sustainability culture. We also have strong regional water management partnerships. Resiliency strategies, integrated resource plans, OneWater ethic — it’s all music to my ears. And it’s my favorite kind: very danceable.

Day Zero in Capetown

April 21 was to be the day taps ran dry in Capetown, South Africa. Apparently, the idea of spigots with nothing but drips had an effect, because even visitors cooperated. Residents were strictly rationed, some to less than 15 gallons per day. In all, they prevented a public health and environmental catastrophe — but apparently they will face another Day Zero next year.

Geek moment

It’s National Water Week and I’m sure I’m not alone in celebrating the amazing snowpack on the southern horizon! Check out these numbers:

For the 2018 water year (started Oct. 1, 2017):

• Cumulative rainfall at Sequim 2E weather station (elev. 25 feet) = 17 inches (already exceeds the average annual amount)

• Most rainfall in 24 hours = 1.14 inches on Dec. 18

• At the Dungeness SNOTEL station (elev. 4,010 feet), snowpack = 26 inches; Snow Water Equivalent = Not reported; Days/nights below freezing = 17.

• Highest flow in the Dungeness River at the USGS gage, River Mile 11.2, is still 2,970 cfs on Nov. 23; Lowest flow = 101 cfs on Oct. 16. Range for the past two months is 175-500 cfs (cfs is 1 cubic foot per second, or just under 650,000 gallons per day)

On the morning of April 16:

• More new snow!

• Dungeness River = 545 cfs and flowing brown (highest average daily flow in over two months).

• Bell Creek at Carrie Blake Park = flow up to 5 cfs again; at the mouth at Washington Harbor = 5-10 cfs.

Ann Soule is a hydrogeologist immersed in the Dungeness watershed since 1990, now Resource Manager for City of Sequim. Reach Ann at or via her blog @ watercolumnsite.wordpress.com.