Despite rapid growth, city of Bend says it has reliable water supply through 2040
(Update: Adding video, comment from city engineer, utility department director)
Efficiency efforts are paying off, city officials say
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As Bend keeps growing, you’d think its water demands do as well.
That’s not necessarily the case, according to city Utility Department Director Mike Buettner.
“Water use per person continues to drop, wherever you’re at,” Buettner told NewsChannel 21 on Monday. “Even nationally, and that case is true here in Central Oregon.”
Buettner said peak water usage in the city, about 25 million gallons per day currently, is actually less than it was back in 2008.
That’s despite Bend’s population nearly doubling over the past 20 years.
“With the new growth that we have, at lot of that new growth comes with either more efficient housing, and really the densification of Bend,” Buettner said.
That’s how Buettner and city Engineer Ryan Oster are able to help Bend project having enough water to meet demand through 2040.
“Despite twice the population, we’re actually staying pretty steady, in terms of how much water we’re using across the city,” Oster said.
Oster pointed to planning for a new subdivision on Bend’s Westside as an example.
“It’s a 45-unit housing development, so you assume four people per house, 100 gallons per day (per person),” Oster said. “You’re talking about 18,000 gallons of water within that development.”
Buettner said water for new developments is put aside years before builders even get the idea to build.
“We’ve planned for that water use years ago, and the reason we can have that development here is really the result of good planning for the past 10 to 20 years,” he said.
He added the Bend municipal water use only accounts for 2% of the Deschutes River Basin.
But still, he said, conserving as much of that 2% as possible is key.
For tips on how to conserve your own water use, visit WaterWiseTips.org.
You can also view the city’s Integrated Water System Master Plan here.
