It's been more than a year since a major study highlighted critical problems with Yamhill County's long-term water supply, and officials are just now starting to talk about what their first step ought to be.

The study was undertaken by HDR Engineering at the behest of a special task force chaired by former county commissioner Dennis Goecks. It was released amid much fanfare in May 2008.

Given the urgency of the study's findings, members of the task force had hoped something substantive would be under way by the time its first anniversary rolled around. The delay drew some pointed criticism from Goecks.

At the time, he said it was imperative that local governments act fast. "Basically, they didn't," he said Thursday.

Goecks said the blame lay primarily with the cities, not the county. He said he had little doubt the county would act on any reasonable proposal. He said it falls most to the cities, which largely depend on self-contained, compartmentalized water systems, to come up with a regional plan for cooperation.

"All three commissioners were very serious about wanting to furnish a vehicle by which people would do this," he said. "But what that means is that every city needs to come together, and the will wasn't there."

HDR's study updated an analysis done back when Goecks was in office in the 1990s. It concluded local population growth was on a collision course with a finite resource - one that has become more difficult, over the years, to extract from the ground.

Individual cities, the report said, could begin facing water shortages by 2010.

"It's one of those things that even without growth, it needs to be addressed," said HDR engineer Ronan Igloria, who recently discussed the issue at a McMinnville City Club luncheon. "Pipes in the ground are going to deteriorate," he said.

Lafayette is among those facing the most immediate challenges.

The city of nearly 4,000, which has experienced rapid growth in recent years, is in the process of developing another well in the field it shares with Dayton.

But City Manager Diane Rinks conceded, "Obviously, that's not solving our long-term issues." She said, "What I've told my council is that, within the next three or four years, a solution needs to be identified."

Lafayette was one of several area cities that tried - and failed - to secure some cash for water system improvements via the Obama administration's stimulus package this spring.

There were more than 200 applicants, including Carlton, Yamhill and McMinnville. Only 18 were successful, none from Yamhill County.

Commissioner Kathy George, the county's liaison to the water task force, said that highlights a Catch-22 for deserving applicants:

If a project has already achieved "shovel-ready" status, the applicant probably has the money needed to finish it in the first place. "You either already have the money, or it's something of no significance," she said.

What Lafayette needs is a reservoir -a 2.2 million gallon reservoir - and an accompanying transmission line. That carries a price tag of about $4 million.

It's currently depending on a 500,000-gallon facility that's too old and too small to meet current needs.

Lafayette shares some infrastructure with Dayton in a joint operating arrangement, and that's the kind of solution - two or more cities teaming up - envisioned in the HDR report. In fact, it recommends development of a single regional water supply system, though that would certain carry a hefty cost.

County officials have started to calculate the next step. Five firms recently responded to a call by the county for a consultant to design "a formalized structure" for tackling regional water issues.

"We're looking for a structure, but we want it to be flexible," said Administrative Services Director Laura Tschabold. She said she plans to discuss the roster of applicants with George next week.

For some, the prospect of any kind of regional governance for anything raises the likelihhood of either new or higher taxes, but Tschabold said that isn't even on the radar. "We aren't anywhere near even discussing that at this point," she said.

The county didn't budget any money this year for expanding the HDR study, so Tschabold said the most likely scenario is that local cities will be asked to participate. But, then, they didn't budget the money either.

"At this point, everybody's budget is really tight," George conceded. "Everyone's concerned about stepping out."