December 27, 2009

Well drilling at fairgrounds set to begin Jan. 4
New well is necessary to avoid crisis similar to this summer’s

By Keri Brenner
The Chronicle

     Drilling for safe, contamination-free drinking water will begin Jan. 4 at the Wasco County Fairgrounds in Tygh Valley.
     A new well is crucial to avoid a repeat of this year’s fecal coliform and E. coli bacteria contamination scare in the fairground’s existing well just days before the popular fair opened Aug. 13.
     It also is necessary to serve people who book the fairgrounds for Bible camps, dog shows or a bluegrass music festival, and for those who camp at the adjacent RV park.
     “We have to do it,” said Tyler Stone, Wasco County administrative services director, of the new well drilling. “Otherwise, we’ll lose all our groups for next year.”
     Stone said the county can’t operate the fair, campground and RV park or have an on-site caretaker without water.
     Wasco County Court commissioners are expected to approve a contract Monday with Austin Well Drilling, LLC, of The Dalles, to do the work. The job is estimated to cost $42,000, Stone said.
     Costs will eventually be recouped through RV campsite and group event booking fees, Stone said.
     This year’s fair averted what could have been a major health crisis after the Oregon National Guard and numerous other groups, businesses and agencies rallied to bring in tanks of potable and bottled water and large containers to boil the contaminated well water.
     Existing well water had to be boiled for one minute and cooled before it could be used for drinking, according to warnings issued by the North Central Public Health District.
     A presence of fecal coliform and E. coli bacteria is an indicator linked to a potential human or animal waste contamination. Drinking such water could cause nausea, diarrhea, cramps, headaches or other symptoms.
     Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley said he will advise the county board against using a state infrastructure loan through the Oregon Business Development Department to pay for the well-drilling work. Nisley said his research on state law has not convinced him that the use of such loans, widely employed by other counties and cities, is wise from a legal standpoint.
     “The state Constitution prohibits counties from incurring debt, other than bonded indebtedness,” Nisley said. “No one has explained to me how a financing agreement qualifies as bonded indebtedness.”
     He said the other counties and cities that use the loans rely on a different interpretation of state statute, but that he did not agree with their interpretation.
“Debt is debt,” Nisley said. “Even if you hide its webbed feet and cover its feathers, a duck is still a duck – it’s not a llama.”
     Court Commissioners Sherry Holliday and Bill Lennox said Wednesday they would likely allow the cost of the well drilling to come out of the county’s contingency fund if the board decides not to use the state loan.
     “Other counties do take the risk of the loan, and we have that option,” Lennox said. “But there’s no point in going down that path unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
     County Judge Dan Ericksen was absent from Wednesday’s special session where the matter was discussed, but is expected to attend Monday’s meeting, Stone said.