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Photo by Johnny Wagner

Only one of the 50 entries in the KUAC Red Green River Regatta consisted of water bottles sewed into a giant Visqueen bag sealed by duct tape.

As the “USS Waste H2O” floated along the Chena from Graehl landing to Pioneer Park, the occupants tried to send a message to anyone who saw them: “Drink tap water instead of buying bottled water.”

They held up a sign that said “Recycle where?” on one side and “1 Year + 1 House = 1,300 bottles” on the other.

Kiffiny Bailey and her dad, Bing Bailey, along with Fan Burge, made up the crew of the Waste Water.

Kiffiny said they began buying bottled water a year ago at the time of the last regatta to acquire the raw materials for a raft and show in the process that bottled water comes with an environmental price.

So after having gone through 1,300 bottles, they have sworn off the stuff and are sticking to the tap.

Their craft was surprisingly maneuverable, fast and comfortable. It looked as comfortable as a Sealy Posturpedic and had more contours than a USGS map.

The other regattans displayed the usual inventive flair that makes the regatta a fun event both for the spectators who lined the river and for those of us who served as judges.

The weather almost felt like ski season in July, but that didn’t stop some of the more exuberant regattans from dousing each other with pure Chena water at the start.

The guy who dumped several gallons of water on the judges’ boat from the Wendell Street Bridge made sure we were all wet, but our spirits were not dampened.

One of the entries struck me as an invention waiting to be patented. That was the “Peddlin’ Possum,” ridden by Toby Viavant, 19.

It was a cross between a stern-wheeler and a bicycle. There were two blocks for floatation in the front and two in the rear, and the rear wheel had small paddles so as he pedaled the bike, he churned the water.

He said something about his brother coming up with this for a science project, but he was not 18 and therefore not eligible to captain a vessel in the regatta.

I could easily see a how a refined version of this stern-cycle could find a market with those who enjoy the water and riding bicycles.

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GVEA MEETINGS: One of the suggestions from the last GVEA annual meeting was for more meetings so members can learn more about the local electricity supply.

Good idea.

The first meeting on the schedule is tonight at the Carlson Center at 6:30. Everyone is invited.

The second meeting is Tuesday at the Delta Junction city council chambers, while the North Pole City Hall will be the site of a meeting Thursday, also at 6:30 p.m. Next Tuesday, it will be Healy’s turn, and on Wednesday, Nenana residents will see the presentation.

I think these meetings should become part of a regular process to report to members and keep them informed.

A lot of people are concerned about their electric rates, and with good reason. It behooves all of us to know as much as possible about why we find ourselves where we are today.

The meetings will include information on a new cost of service study the utility undertook to make sure that the members in different classes, such as residential, commercial and industrial, are paying their fair share of the utility costs.

This study is expected to lead to an application this fall containing another rate increase for residential and most commercial users.

Before you complain about this, take the time to learn what the study says and why.

Details about Gov. Sarah Palin’s short-term energy relief plan are also on the agenda for the meetings.

The Alaska Power Association of electric utilities has endorsed the governor’s plan for the $1,200 resource rebate plan and also called upon lawmakers to lower the cost of fuel to utilities to $10 per million British Thermal Units and provided low-cost or free financing for fuel inventories.

Meanwhile, GVEA has written members about its efforts to get the experimental Healy Clean Coal Plant back in operation and its dispute with the state, the owner of the plant.

Getting the HCCP running and providing electricity might lower rates by 2 cents per kilowatt hour, according to one estimate, so the plant is not the overall solution to local energy woes.

The letter to GVEA members from Board Chairman Bill Nordmark and GVEA President Brian Newton says that the task of getting the plant running again “has proven to be more difficult than what we ever expected.”

“Ever since 2000 when HCCP failed to meet certain reliability and performance tests, Golden Valley has been in dispute with AIDEA,” the letter states. “The differences center on the manner which AIDEA, the owner of HCCP, has designed and constructed the plant and their failure to deliver power to the Interior. The dispute is further complicated by the fact that AIDEA filed a $167 million lawsuit against Golden Valley in 2005. AIDEA has also taken the intended benefits of HCCP from Interior Alaskans by entering into a development agreement for HCCP power with Homer Electric Association.”

Nordmark and Newton said GVEA wants to go ahead with the 18 months of work and the $15 million it will take to get the plant into operation. They are working with the Palin administration and the AIDEA board and are “confident” the AIDEA lawsuit can be dismissed.

Dermot Cole can be reached at cole@newsminer.com or 459-7530.