Daily Sitka Sentinel

Park Board OKs Sale Of Water to South Africa

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Gary Paxton Industrial Park board on Tuesday approved the sale of 1 billion gallons of water a year to a company in drought-stricken Cape Town, South Africa, GPIP Director Garry White said Thursday.
    The company must move 50 million gallons of water within six months or the contract is canceled, according to the contract conditions.
    The city has had other bulk water sales contracts but no water has yet been shipped out.
    The contract requires the company, GreenGold Distributors, to pay the city $5,000 for administrative costs upfront to secure the contract. The company is an importer and exporter in Cape Town. No information was provided on how the water would be transported across the 10,400 miles from Sitka to the southern tip of Africa.
    White said he is hoping the contract will be ready for the agenda of the March 13 Assembly meeting.
    “She (the company representative) wants to get going as soon as possible,” White said Thursday.
    He noted that GPIP is proceeding cautiously, with a shorter term contract in this case.
    “If she’s successful we’ll turn it into a longer term contract with her,” White said.
    The vote was 4-0 in favor of the contract. Attending the meeting were Charles Horan, Sheila Finkenbinder, Chairman Scott Wagner, and Dan Jones (by teleconference).
Dock and Water Policy
    White said other business at the meeting included approval “in concept” of the tariffs, rules, regulations and fees for users of the GPIP dock. It goes next to the Assembly for final approval at its March 13 meeting.
    The board also heard a request from Steve Reifenstuhl, executive director of the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association, to clarify the city’s policy on water use.
    About two months ago, NSRAA made a presentation to the GPIP board about the aquaculture association’s proposal to expand its operations by leasing Block 4, Lot 3 at the industrial park, and obtaining rights to two additional cubic feet per second of water from the Blue Lake penstock. Currently, NSRAA has a long-term lease on Lot 2, and rights to 10 cubic feet per second of water from the Blue Lake penstock.
    The board approved the lease of the additional land, and it will go before the Assembly at next Tuesday’s regular meeting. The GPIP board has not made a decision on the NSRAA request for additional water from Blue Lake.
    Reifenstuhl said today he would like an answer on the water request to factor into the organization’s planning. He said that NSRAA’s plans to expand Chinook and chum salmon production come at an important time.
    “We’re looking at expanding Chinook production at a time when the Chinook stocks around Southeast and Pacific Salmon Treaty are ratcheting down on opportunity,” Reifenstuhl said. “The value of this Chinook and chum expansion could be worth $5 million a year to the common property.”
    He told the GPIP board at Tuesday’s meeting that he would like a decision on his request for additional water, and also clarification on the city’s policies on water utilization.