Paper mill fights to save water, jobs

Alex Cnossen

Alex Cnossen Jun 28, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Paper mill fights to save water, jobs</h1>
                <h2><p>The average person uses about 80-100 gallons of water a day, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science School. The average paper mill? According to Port Townsend Paper Mill managers, it's in the millions, but they're working to cut it down.

The</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/alex-cnossen-crosscut-com/">Alex Cnossen</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>The average person uses about 80-100 gallons of water a day, <a href="http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">according</a> to the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science School. The average paper mill? According to Port Townsend Paper Mill managers, it's in the millions, but they're working to cut it down.</p><p>The biggest private employer in Jefferson County has rented cooling towers that allow water to be recycled, cutting usage by 2 million gallons per day, King 5 <a href="http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2015/07/23/port-townsend-paper-mill-drought/30593065/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">reports</a>. Port Townsend declared a water emergency earlier this week. If the emergency continues into the fall, the mill may have to shut down temporarily, costing about 300 people their paychecks. Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said that would have effects countywide.</p>
          </article>

The average person uses about 80-100 gallons of water a day, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science School. The average paper mill? According to Port Townsend Paper Mill managers, it's in the millions, but they're working to cut it down.

The biggest private employer in Jefferson County has rented cooling towers that allow water to be recycled, cutting usage by 2 million gallons per day, King 5 reports. Port Townsend declared a water emergency earlier this week. If the emergency continues into the fall, the mill may have to shut down temporarily, costing about 300 people their paychecks. Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said that would have effects countywide.

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By Alex Cnossen

Alex Cnossen is a Northwest native and has worked for several local publications, including KOMO, KIRO and KING-TV. He grew up in Portland and loves to run and write. Follow him on Twitter @CnossenAle