KWSO News 7/17/19

Residents of Warm Springs are reminded to conserve water use with reservoir levels low or out.   The Branch of Public Utilities reported readings from Monday – showing no water in the West Hills tank – only 3 feet in the Greeley Heights tanks and 13 feet in the South East tank.

The Tewee Butte tank feeds the South East Tank which then in turn feeds Greeley Heights and West Hills.  Clearly the Warm Springs Agency water distribution system remains unstable.

Residents and businesses are urged to continue conservation efforts so that your neighborhood will have continued access to water. Refrain from watering lawns or washing cars and take steps to ensure that all outdoor faucets at your residence are shut off.

The engineering assessment of pressure reducing valves in 7 stations within the system has been completed and procurement of materials needed to conduct critical repairs is underway. The construction timeline is subject to the availability of materials – all efforts are being done to expedite this process.

For the foreseeable future – low water pressure is expected throughout the system for all residences and businesses south of Highway 26.  Water outages are occurring in the West Hills neighborhood.  Water levels in the Greeley Heights reservoir are critically low and will result in water outages if immediate steps are not taken to conserve water.

The boil water notice remains in effect until further notice for the entirety of the Warm Springs Agency area including Kah-nee-ta, Wolfe Point, Sunnyside, Upper Dry Creek, Miller Heights, Campus area, West Hills, Tenino Valley, Tenino Apartments, Elliott Heights, Senior Housing, Trailer Courts, and Greeley Heights.

Drinking Water Distribution is weekdays 7:30am – 6pm at the old Warm Springs Elementary School.  Showers are open, at the same location, 6am – 9pm.

The Oregon legislature has approved $7.8 million in funding to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs for three key water projects on the reservation. With Gov. Brown’s signature the bill becomes law. The $7.8 million is part of 2019 House Bill 5030, a so-called ‘Christmas tree’ bill, allocating millions for many projects across the state. The revenue comes from the Oregon Lottery. The state plans to issue the Lottery bonds for the HB5030 projects in 2021. The funding would be available sometime after the bond issuance. Read more about it in today’s Spilyay Tymoo.

The Twenty-Eighth Tribal Committees of the Confederated Tribes took office on Monday. Here are the new committee members: ·

• Culture and Heritage Committee: Myra Johnson-Orange and Rosie Tom. Radine Johnson and Lepha Smith. Lorraine Suppah and Carlos Calica.
• Education Committee: Ardis Clark, Taw Foltz, and Deanie Smith.
• Off Reservation Fish and Wildlife Committee: Bruce Jim Sr., Emerson Squiemphen and Ryan Smith Sr.
• On Reservation Fish and Wildlife Committee: Ron Suppah Sr., Raphael Queahpama and Stanley Simtustus Sr.
• Health and Welfare Committee: Janice Clements, Catherine Katchia and Eugene Austin Greene Jr.
• Land Use Planning Committee: Evaline Patt, Lyle Katchia and Jonathan W. Smith.
• Range, Irrigation and Agriculture Committee: Delford Johnson, Flint Scott and Terry Squiemphen.
• Timber Committee: Luther Clements, Anthony Holliday Sr. and Levi VanPelt.

Start Making A Reader Today—SMART—is relaunching in Warm Springs this fall, and is now looking for volunteer readers. SMART is a statewide non-profit children’s literacy organization pairing volunteers with kids ages pre-k through third-grades for one-on- one reading time and books to keep. The SMART model is research based, and is about making reading fun and enjoyable for kids. The kids receive at least 14 books to keep throughout the year. Volunteer Readers will read for two 30-minute sessions one day each week. If you would like to volunteer, or would like more information, talk with Pinky Beamer, Warm Springs SMART ambassador. Or talk with Katie at the Warm Springs Academy.