Pinedale Water
by Forest & Sofia Wakefield
October 12, 2016
Pinedale Water Fact Sheet
Fact 1. The Town of Pinedale has in excess of 17,000 acre-feet of storage rights on Fremont Lake
Did you know the Town of Pinedale used 366 million gallons of water in 2015, which is less than 7% of its water storage rights?
Fact 2. The Bureau of Reclamation in their 2012 study of the Colorado River found that the upper watershed of the Green River would experience the smallest reductions in stream flow, less than 5 percent, than anywhere else in the Colorado River System, over the next 50 years.
Did you know that the 60 year average flow on Pine Creek brings 125,000 acre feet into Fremont Lake and that at the lowest flow year recorded (1977), over 76,000 acre-feet of water flowed into and recharged Pinedale’s storage within Fremont Lake?
Fact 3. Many main water lines within the Town limits are shallower than 5 feet below the street surface.
Did you know that to maintain pipes from freezing, the recommended flow rate of 1 gallon per minute is recommended in those areas with the shallowest lines?
Fact 4. The average American family uses 12,000 gallons of water per month.
Did you know that if bleeding at a rate of 1 gallon per minute, a household will consume 44,640 gallons per month before even a drop is used for drinking or for personal use such as flushing a toilet or taking a shower, and that the base rate Pinedale set is 20,000 gallons?
Fact 5. The Town of Pinedale’s water and sewer operational budget through June of 2016,that included revenue generated from a flat residential rate of $49 per month, took in $1,118,600 from bills and spent $916,500 (including $130,000 payed into a depreciation reserve), leaving the water and sewer budget a surplus of $202,100, or 22%.
Did you know that the GettingGreatRates.com study found that the Town was operating its water system at 3% lower than the State average in 2015? Did you also know that in 2012 the Pinedale Town Council passed a 25% rate increase which made the water and sewer enterprise fund self-sufficient for the first time in many years and which had continued to be self-sufficient through the March, 2016 budget realignment meeting?
Fact 6. The June, 2016 Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) "Public Water System Survey" found that the average contribution per municipality to a depreciation fund was $80,000 per year.
Did you know that Pinedale’s new rate hike is slated to set $250,000 per year into a depreciation account, a 92% increase over 2015-1016 and 200% more than the State Average?
Fact 7. There is no Wyoming Statute mandating installation of water meters, nor laws regarding how they are used once installed.
Did you know that in 2011, the Town received grant money from the WWDC that was based on installation of meters? Did you also know that the WWDC prioritizes grants to towns with meters but Pinedale has not applied for any to help fund any future projects?
There is a special Town Council Meeting at 7:00 PM in the Hampton Inn on October 14th, please make time to attend and express your concerns over the new water meter rates and the fairest way to implement them.
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Editor’s Note: The information above was submitted by Forest and Sofia Wakefield as facts about Pinedale’s water. Pinedale Online has not verified the data points provided in this submission.
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