Water planning committee meeting on Feb. 29

Mark your calendars for 7 p.m. Feb. 29 and plan to attend the Water Planning Committee's meeting at the Ruhenstroth Volunteer Fire Department. The committee has been working very hard to address the issues surrounding the water problem in our neighborhood since their inception at a neighborhood meeting on Dec. 15, 2006.

"Our purpose in holding the meeting (on the 29th) is to provide information on our activities and to enlist residents' cooperation in allowing us to measure their wells now and in future years, particularly those USGS sites," Rick Oliver explains.

Committee members Jim Liles, Tom Stanley, Mike Morley, Mark Gonzales, Pat Hawks, Jeff Dinsmore, Stephanie Hicks, Vicki and Robin Bates and Rick Oliver have been meeting at least once a month - and many times more often - to look at options available for long term solution(s) to the water recharge problem. They have met with county as well as federal officials and private interests to gather a wide range of possible solutions for us to consider. Our neighborhood is in a unique position in that we are not affected by the runoff from other areas such as the Johnson Lane area, but because we are in a basin, we do not benefit from underground recharge by the Carson River or other tributaries. We are totally at the mercy of rainfall that soaks into the underground aquifer and recharges our wells.

Neighbor Gary Swift saw the need to educate and help inform the residents of these issues and has set up a Web site that has the minutes of each of the committee's meetings over the past year.

Visit geocities.com/ruhenstrothwater and print the minutes so that you can review the possible solutions the committee is bringing to you for decision. This way we will be able to help in the decision making process and not take up valuable time asking for basic background information that is available on the Web site. There is quite a bit of information available on the site including a more in-depth explanation of our water sources and history. Please spread the word to your neighbors so that the committee can reach as many residents as possible with this information.

Thank you to the committee members for all their hard work in preparing for this meeting as well as the time they have invested in this project. It is very much appreciated. We look forward to hearing what you have learned on Feb. 29.

Have a rambling good week.

-- To reach Gail Davis, e-mail ruhenstrothramblings@yahoo.com or call 265-1947.