Cowlitz PUD owns the water system that provides service to 3,800 customers in the outlying areas north and east of Longview and Kelso, including Columbia Heights, Beacon Hill, Lexington, Sunset Terrace, Cedar Gates, Ostrander/Woodbrook, Cowlitz Gardens and Williams-Finney. The PUD is also a partner (with the City of Longview) in the Longview Regional Water Treatment Plant (RWTP), located in West Kelso. The RWTP serves nearly all our water customers.

WATER SYSTEM TRANSFERRING TO BEACON HILL SEWER DISTRICT
In January 2008, under a new inter-local agreement, the PUD began the process of transferring its water system to Beacon Hill Sewer District. BHSD is now handling day-to-day maintenance and installations and will soon be processing bills and payments. About 80% of our water customers also have BHSD sewer service.

The goal of the PUD and BHSD is to provide a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. Our water is tested regularly through a certified laboratory and we are glad to report it meets or exceeds state and federal standards. State and federal regulators routinely monitor our compliance and testing protocols to assure that we deliver safe drinking water to you.

EVERY DROP COUNTS!
Living in a community surrounded by trees, mountains, and rivers, it might seem far-fetched to consider our water supply ever running low. But that's exactly what Longview, Lexington, and parts of the surrounding area could face in the summer…or anytime of the year for that matter.

SILT PROBLEMS IN THE COWLITZ RIVER
The source of your drinking water is the Regional Water Treatment Plant (RWTP) located at the Longview-Kelso border. Water from the Cowlitz River is filtered and treated at the RWTP and delivered to City of Longview and PUD/BHSD customers.

There is plenty of water in the Cowlitz River, but a large amount of silt washing down from Mt. St. Helens is clogging the RWTP intake facilities. When customer demand for water is low in the winter (200 gallons a day in the typical home), the RWTP can keep up. But in the summer, that demand climbs to 400 gallons a day. Our water supply becomes vulnerable when you couple increased water use with the silt problem, and a 60-year old treatment plant that has experienced filter failures.

The long-term fix is possibly a new City of Longview groundwater supply at the Mint Farm. But the best case scenario for completion of such a plant is three years away.

WHAT WE'RE DOING TO PREPARE
The City of Longview has adopted a four-stage water emergency plan and Cowlitz PUD/BHSD has also developed a four-step plan to encourage customers to reduce their water usage. It includes:

»	An aggressive public notice campaign asking for voluntary reductions This includes updates posted at this website, in our monthly newsletter and the local media.
»	Direct communication with large users
»	A water rate surcharge which will take effect if a Stage 2 emergency is declared by the City of Longview
	»	Residential:	-Current rates for the first 500 cubic feet of water used per month -50% surcharge for the next 500 cubic feet per -100% surcharge for all water used over 1,000 cubic feet per month
	»	Nonresidential:	-Average consumption for January, February, and March 2007 = Base Use -50% surcharge for first 25% over base use in a month -100% surcharge for balance of water used
	1 cubic foot of water = 7.48 gallons A “month” is based on the 30-day period (approximate) between meter readings.
»	Installation of flow restrictors depending on the level of the emergency and customer response to voluntary reductions and surcharge

We'll notify PUD/BHSD customers via the Longview Daily News, local radio announcements and on this website if the temporary rate structures above go into effect in response to a water emergency. If you use water for non-essential needs during a water emergency (watering, washing cars, filling swimming pools, etc.) your monthly water billing will likely rise considerably over what you normally expect.

Please use water wisely at all times, especially during the summer and when we experience hot weather.