Rumination on drought and my utility bill

While I was paying my utility bill this morning (late as usual), I was amazed once again by how little we pay for water in Idaho Falls: $21 for an unlimited amount.

Given all that we have been hearing about the drought in California and the fines that are being proposed for overwatering lawns there, I did some research and learned that in San Diego, $21 will by you roughly 8.4 hours in the shower, 16.8 hours if you are using a low-flow shower head.

The typical single-family domestic customer has a 3/4-inch meter (some larger homes may have a 1-inch meter) and the total bill is a combination of the monthly meter base fee (which is based on the size of the meter) and the amount of water used.

For billing purposes, the Public Utilities Department measures water used by hundred cubic feet or HCF. Each HCF equals 748.05 gallons.

The bi-monthly charges for a typical single-family domestic customer are:
Base fee: $40.62
0 - 8 HCF used are billed at $3.896 per HCF.
9 - 24 HCF used are billed at $4.364 per HCF.
25 - 36 HCF used are billed at $6.234 per HCF.
Each HCF used after the initial 36 HCF is billed at $8.766 per HCF.

This is where it saves you money to have a low flow shower. If your house was built before 1980, the average flow per minute is 5 to 7 gallons per minute. Between 1981 and 1991 it’s 3.5 and after 1992 it’s 2.5 gpm.

Replacing old shower heads with new ones can save you as much as 750 gallons per month.
Do we care here in Idaho Falls? I could water my lawn all night, take half-hour showers three times a day and still pay $21 a month. Not that I would, or that many other people do.

Even though we live in a desert, our forebears had the presence of mind to build our city on top of an aquifer. The first well was dug in 1924, and there are more than two dozen now.

City plans meeting Wednesday to discuss new downtown fire station

The Idaho Falls Fire Department will hold an open house Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 680 Park Avenue, to discuss plans for a new downtown fire station.

The main purpose of the open house is to invite contractors to learn about the new process and to help them make sure they have the proper licensing before the project goes out for bid at the end of June, Fire Chief Dave Hanneman said.

The project's timeline will be discussed. Fire department staff and the architects will be available for questions.

In April 2015, Idaho Falls City Council unanimously approved a $163,000 contract with the CRSA architectural firm to design a new fire station to replace downtown Fire Station 1, which is on the lower level of Idaho Falls' 85-year old City Building.

The new station is to be located on existing city-owned property on E Street between Shoup and Park Avenues.

The State of Idaho requires  construction managers be licensed. This is to assure the public they have the level of education and experience required for successful management of public construction projects.

Cabela's opening draws huge crowd

Here's the line this morning at the new Cabela's store in Ammon.  This was shot by David Snell, not me, and shared on Facebook. We will be checking later to find out what the attendance actually turned out to be.

EIRMC, Madison Memorial receive top scores in safety survey

Eastern Idaho Regional first opened in 1986.

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls and Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg have received “A” ratings in the bi-annual Hospital Safety Score published by The Leapfrog Group. The designation recognizes exceptional performance in consistently meeting evidence-based patient safety guidelines. Overall, three hospitals in Idaho received the top rating.

The Hospital Safety Score compiles 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data into a single “grade.” That score represents any hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections and injuries as well as medical and medication errors.

To see the hospitals’ scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving safety, quality and affordability of health care. It was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

Cool Beanz holds grand opening at Snake River Landing

Shane Murphy, owner of Cool Beanz and Java Express

Cool Beanz had its official opening today at Snake River Landing, but owner Shane Murphy is no stranger to serving coffee.

As owner of Java Express for 23 years, Murphy has had a lot of time to think about a sit-down coffee shop. Over the past five years, he has talked with Eric Isom, Snake River Landing's chief operating officer, about locating there.

Two things brought about the coming of Cool Beanz. One was the closing of Bella Vita, the shop where Cool Beanz now is. The other was the lease that McAfee Security Systems signed, bringing 120 people into the building across Pier View Drive.

"I thought if we could service them it might so real well," Murphy said.

He was tempted to name the shop Java Express, but didn't want to create confusion among the coffee kiosk's devoted following.

Once the deal was in place, Murphy set to remodeling. "We pretty much took it down to scratch and rebuilt it," he said.

With the look there is a new menu, featuring Java Express coffee and tea, smoothies, desserts, panninis, bagel breakfast sandwiches, craft beers and wines.

Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Murphy said he is bullish on Snake River Landing's prospects, especially with the Home2 By Hilton hotel due to open in late summer.