August 12, 2022 |
In Rawlins, the water situation has been holding steady. On watering days, usage peaks above 2.5 million gallons of usage a day and then falls back below 2-million gallons consumed on restricted days.
Mira Miller with the city manager’s office said the situation is on the “low side of good” since capacity in the city’s four storage tanks hit critical levels last month.
The two high pressure tanks, one behind the hospital and the other in Painted Hills, have rebounded since falling below 50 percent capacity during the first hot days of July. The two-high-volume, low-pressure tanks near the treatment plant drain slower than the smaller, high-pressure thanks north of the interstate.
When the levels in the smaller tanks dipped in July, the city stepped up enforcement of water restrictions. Repeat offenders were threatened with fines. Miller said this week that no fines have been levied so far. For now, people watering outside the mandated schedule have been given warnings.
While residents are patient with the restrictions, some are watching their neighbors in Sinclair. Lawns are green with plenty of water in the neighborhoods surrounding the refinery. So in Rawlins, it’s natural that some faces are green with envy. Why, some ask, if the two communities share the same water source — the springs south of Rawlins — and the same treatment plant, why did the Town of Sinclair not enact watering restrictions this summer, as well?
Both communities suffered through the catastrophic failure of the system in March. Why not share a little pain now?
The short answer is: It’s Sinclair’s water. The town can do what it wants.
The Town of Sinclair buys water from Rawlins at a wholesale rate. It then provides water service to the taps in town. Sinclair residents are billed for the service by the Town of Sinclair, not the City of Rawlins.
According to the contract between the governmental entities, the Town of Sinclair purchases the treated water from Rawlins at a discounted rate. Sinclair’s bulk rate is about 60 percent of what residents in Rawlins residents pay. As part of the deal, Sinclair provides untreated North Platte River water to Rawlins.
Unclear is how many acre feet of water the Town of Sinclair provides water under the terms of the contract. It’s unclear how much if any of the Sinclair water Rawlins is using right now. The City of Rawlins also holds older water rights to stream flows in the North Platte River.
