A column of mine entitled "Abandon 2008 Water Master Plan" was published in the June 7 Tidings. It showed why the unnecessary, excessive and very expensive 2008 adopted Water Master Plan should be abandoned and the much less expensive ($6,914,000 less) 2004 adopted Water Master Plan should be retained because it's very adequate through build-out of the city within its present urban growth boundary (UGB).

In my column I also stated that Lori Hall, editor of the Tidings, had been fed a lot of misinformation by city staff as a basis for her May 31 Tidings article in which she said a new pump station was needed to meet the water demand of a new primary school being built on Rosemont Road.

I responded by stating there is no need whatsoever for the pump station to be built to meet the water demand of that new school. I referred readers to the "Introduction" of the first column in my blog, which can be accessed by opening any browser and typing "informingWL.blogspot.com." It's explained there why there is no deficiency in water supply to the Rosemont zone, which is the zone from which water can be fed to the new school without any need for the above-cited new pump station. Trying to justify the new pump station (properly called a booster pump station) by saying it's needed to supply the water demand of the new school is a lame excuse because it's not consistent with the facts.

I was surprised to see that at the end of my above column, Lori Hall had attached an "Editor's note," which let the city respond and try to discredit my column by saying West Linn's Water Master Plan (2008 adopted plan) was developed by a team of experts who have developed similar plans for dozens of other communities. The city further claims the plan states that the study area of this planning effort is the entire area within the city UGB and that it does not include any part of the undeveloped Stafford area.

The above claim by the city doesn't negate the fact that the 2008 plan includes facilities that can supply water for urban expansion of West Linn into the Stafford Triangle. Those facilities involve excess water storage and a booster pump station, both of which are not needed to serve West Linn within its present UGB.

The 2008 plan has a proposed total of 4.3 million gallons in new reservoir storage. The 2004 plan has a proposed total of 3.1 million gallons in new reservoir storage, which is adequate to serve the city through build-out within its present UGB. Therefore, there is an extra 1.2 million gallons more new water storage in the 2008 plan than in the 2004 plan. The only possible use of this excess storage is to have more water availability to provide for pumping water by the 2008 plan's proposed booster pump station from the 2008 plan's proposed new 0.3 million gallon Bland Circle Reservoir No. 2 at the top of the hill into the Rosemont zone, from which it can be relayed into the Stafford Triangle for urbanized expansion of West Linn into the triangle.

Again, the only responsible thing for the city council to do is to abandon the 2008 plan and retain the 2004 plan.

Bob Thomas is a resident of West Linn.