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While there is much of Milton Friedman with which we must take serious issue, his comment on government problem solving is close to the bone. “A government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.”

Spearfish this spring experienced a municipal water supply problem based on the breakdown of one of its major wells. I wrote about the problem and analyzed the water supply and water system contingency planning of the city in an opinion piece entitled ‘Water conservation is triage only’. This piece can be found in a prior edition of the Rapid City Journal or on the newspaper’s website.

The absence of contingency planning for water supply and availability emergencies is a serious problem for any government. The Spearfish well problem is still not fixed but some action has been taken by the city. The non-working well caused the city to impose a second stage of water conservation for its users. Spearfish moved to Code Green "Enhanced Voluntary Conservation Status". After the Memorial Day breakdown of the large municipal well, the city approved a quote for $198,932.05 from a well driller for repair. With the city unable to identify the root cause of the well problem, the contractor proposed ordering all possible parts needed to repair the unidentified mechanical problem “deep underground”. Three months on and well is not working.

My disquietude is based on the failure to plan. The city is concerned about growth but has no express contingency plan for water emergencies. The points made in my prior piece are still unaddressed. The city’s water system history starts before, not just after, the broken municipal well. Prior to the well breakdown Spearfish wrote a government funding application. The application included a revenue bond proposal for upgrading the city's water system.

In this the formal written application finished in May of this year the question was asked whether Spearfish had knowledge of the characteristics and costs of using alternative water sources. The city answered that it did not know. The written application asked whether Spearfish had hired a qualified pump contractor to perform an inspection of all pumping equipment, to identify potential problems, and to perform maintenance, on an annual basis? The city answered that it had not done this. The application also asked Spearfish whether it had emergency pumping capability to ensure adequate distribution storage to provide service for up to 24 hours in a power outage. The city answered that it did not know. The written application asked whether the city water system has an emergency or supplemental water supply? The city answered that it did not.

Having confidence in their powers the city moved forward with its water problem. After the breakdown the city was awarded a grant from the state for, among other projects, a new well which has not been drilled and funding for an additional storage tank which is to be constructed. The capacity of the proposed well has not been determined. The size of the proposed water storage tank would accommodate approximately only 43% of the city’s daily water consumption. The 4-million-dollar funding included no studies for a water contingency emergency plan.

The only publicly available relevant plan which concerns Spearfish is a general county plan from 2012. This plan fails to discuss Spearfish’ water use, supply sources, access contingencies and other relevant planning provisions. The 2012 plan contains no discussion regarding short-term water replacement, long-term alternative water sources, or potential challenges resulting from operational issues.

The goal of a contingency plan is the current and future protection of a public water supply system under procedures which can be used for the correction or mitigation of environmental accidents, system security breaches and system breakdowns.

Given the importance of consistent adequate water supply to the population, the city ought to have now, and not just maybe in the future, a water emergency contingency plan, including spare parts for its municipal wells, an agreement for maintenance and repair, as well as clearly identified options for short-term replacement and long-term alternative water sources. Spearfish, when considered among other governing bodies in the poor management of contingency planning, is not alone.

David Ganje practices law in the area of natural resources, environmental and commercial law with Ganje Law Office. His website is Lexenergy.net.

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