Qatar to Aberdeen: Sell us your water!
GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. -- Qatar wants to buy a local river.
The country is willing to buy whatever water Aberdeen is willing to sell.
The big question is whether Aberdeen is able to sell.
The river is not Aberdeen's drinking water. It's industrial water that now flows into the Pacific Ocean because the industry that once used it is now shut down.
Times are not exactly good in Grays Harbor County. The downturn in construction has shuttered local mills and created one of the state's highest unemployment rates.
It also means that millions of gallons of water once used by mills is now flowing to the sea.
The Middle East country of Qatar needs water. Aberdeen's got it. A Qatar representative wants to make a deal.
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson would love to make some money out of the town's 30 million gallons of excess water.
"Yes, sir!" he said.
But he's not sure of one thing -- whether Aberdeen is willing to deal with Qatar.
"That I'm not sure of," said Simpson.
Some in Aberdeen say it's river water. It flows to the ocean. Sell it. Other reaction range from bewilderment to disapproval.
"I don't see the economics of it. It just floors me," said resident Don Paris.
"Well, what don't we do for the Middle East? We do everything for them; they don't do nothing for us. No!" said Nicole Garcia, another resident.
"No, I don't know," said resident Elaine Pacheco. "I'm kind of selfish. It's our water," said
It may not make any difference what people say or what the mayor thinks. State law governs water rights, and water rights say water has to be used where the water is; export is not allowed.
"(It's against the law) to simply export it, doesn't matter where," said Aberdeen City Attorney Eric Nelson. "We couldn't export it to Seattle if there was another dry spell and Seattle wanted a little extra water. We couldn't ship it off to Seattle, either."
But Qatar's representative says there may be an answer -- a filter. If the industrial water is purified turned into a bottled product, then it should be exportable.
"Maybe we should trade one barrel of water for one barrel of oil. That's a way to go. But I would rather see the water used locally for manufacturing here," said Simpson.
The country is willing to buy whatever water Aberdeen is willing to sell.
The big question is whether Aberdeen is able to sell.
The river is not Aberdeen's drinking water. It's industrial water that now flows into the Pacific Ocean because the industry that once used it is now shut down.
Times are not exactly good in Grays Harbor County. The downturn in construction has shuttered local mills and created one of the state's highest unemployment rates.
It also means that millions of gallons of water once used by mills is now flowing to the sea.
The Middle East country of Qatar needs water. Aberdeen's got it. A Qatar representative wants to make a deal.
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson would love to make some money out of the town's 30 million gallons of excess water.
"Yes, sir!" he said.
But he's not sure of one thing -- whether Aberdeen is willing to deal with Qatar.
"That I'm not sure of," said Simpson.
Some in Aberdeen say it's river water. It flows to the ocean. Sell it. Other reaction range from bewilderment to disapproval.
"I don't see the economics of it. It just floors me," said resident Don Paris.
"Well, what don't we do for the Middle East? We do everything for them; they don't do nothing for us. No!" said Nicole Garcia, another resident.
"No, I don't know," said resident Elaine Pacheco. "I'm kind of selfish. It's our water," said
It may not make any difference what people say or what the mayor thinks. State law governs water rights, and water rights say water has to be used where the water is; export is not allowed.
"(It's against the law) to simply export it, doesn't matter where," said Aberdeen City Attorney Eric Nelson. "We couldn't export it to Seattle if there was another dry spell and Seattle wanted a little extra water. We couldn't ship it off to Seattle, either."
But Qatar's representative says there may be an answer -- a filter. If the industrial water is purified turned into a bottled product, then it should be exportable.
"Maybe we should trade one barrel of water for one barrel of oil. That's a way to go. But I would rather see the water used locally for manufacturing here," said Simpson.