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Giving Your Feedback To ensure that the Columbia River water
management plan passed by the Legislature this session is implemented
properly, public comment is being sought at four public meetings in Eastern
Washington.
May 17: 4 to 7 p.m., Wenatchee Convention Center, The Coast
Wenatchee Center Hotel, Gala Room.
May 18: 4 to 7 p.m., Colville, Agricultural Trade Center.
May 22: 4 to 7 p.m., Moses Lake, Fire Department, Multipurpose
Room
May 23: 4 to 7 p.m., Kennewick, Three Rivers Convention Center,
Meeting Room C.
If you are unable to attend these meetings, the state Department of
Ecology will accept written comment through June 5. Send to: Derek Sandison.
Fax: (509) 575-2809; E-mail:
dsan461@ecy.wa.gov
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It’s the water
Columbia River management plan
If there’s water in the big rivers, the small rivers
will be full.
- Chinese proverb
 Perhaps
no other resource is taken for granted more than water.
One of Washington’s most important sources of water is
the Columbia River, which is shared by two nations, several
Indian tribes, seven states, and dozens of communities and
tributaries that contribute to its flow. The Columbia
affects nearly every resident of the Pacific Northwest: Its
water powers the economy and is the ecological cornerstone
of its entire watershed.
But for 25 years, political and legal wrangling held up
progress on an overall management plan that would address
out-of-stream and instream needs. Out-of-stream needs
include irrigation and municipal water supply; instream
needs include assuring a sufficient supply of water to
protect fish, wildlife and water quality.
This past session, decades of fighting and dissent over
Columbia River water rights finally came to an end, as
Senate Democrats reached a landmark bipartisan agreement on
one of the most contentious issues the Legislature has ever
dealt with.
The legislation we passed will:
- Increase water storage and conservation.
- Help improve fish runs.
- Require mitigation for new water withdrawals from
the Columbia.
More specifically, the measure says:
- Two-thirds of new water supplies is dedicated to
out-of-stream uses.
- One-third is for improving river flows or fish
populations.
- The Department of Ecology may enter into voluntary
regional agreements that specify the conditions of the
new withdrawals from the river.
- State and tribal fisheries managers must be
consulted before entering into any agreement, and the
agreements must ensure there will be no river flow
reductions during periods critical for fish.
- A 10-year, $200 million plan for funding the
Columbia Basin Water Supply Development Program is
established through bonding.
 The
agreement is a win-win for the environment as well as for
cities, fish, agriculture, and other industries in Eastern
Washington. We hope the lessons we learn there can be
applied to water issues all around the state.
To learn more about the Columbia River Water Management
Plan, visit the Department of Ecology’s
Web site.
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