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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 1997
97-170
CONTACT: Pat Svoboda, Kitsap County Water Resource Coordinator, (425)
649-7077
Ray Hellwig, Regional Water Resources Supervisor, (425) 649-7096
Bellevue, WA - Kitsap Public Utility District (PUD), in cooperation with the Department of Ecology (Ecology), has completed a major study -- called an Initial Basin Assessment -- that will be used by Ecology to start processing backlogged water rights applications in parts of the county by this winter. The report from the PUD marks the completion of the first phase of a three-phase process aimed at determining how much ground and surface water is available in the area. Similar information-gathering is under way statewide.
"To make decisions on water availability we need a good understanding of the hydrology of the Kitsap basin." said Ray Hellwig, Ecology's Regional Water Resources Program supervisor. "The information in this report was developed through an agreement with Ecology and the PUD and has been validated by outside experts as part of a peer review process. There are more than 200 water rights applications pending in Kitsap County. This report should provide the data needed to process applications in some parts of the county starting this winter, but in other areas more information may be needed."
Ecology has been working with local authorities to develop Basin Assessment studies and plans in water basins -- known as Water Resource Inventory Areas -- throughout the state. The process has three phases:
Ecology and the PUD signed a Memorandum of Agreement in 1995 to form a partnership on assessing the water resource in Kitsap County. The watershed assessment report was prepared as part of that agreement. It represents the completion of Phase One of the assessment process in Kitsap County. The assessment uses information compiled from the PUD monitoring program with data from the Suquamish and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribes, military installations and other water purveyors.
"Overall, this process will help Ecology, the PUD and other agencies manage and protect Kitsap County's ground water resources and stream flows," Hellwig explained. "The database will provide an ongoing source of information to make the decisions needed to accomplish these goals. We're trying to ensure that there will be water in the wells, creeks and rivers of Kitsap County."
The PUD/Ecology report, called an Initial Basin Assessment, is available for public review at:
Ecology will maintain a file open for public viewing on its review of the PUD report and further steps in the watershed assessment process for Kitsap County. The file will be available for review starting Nov. 15 at:
For more information please contact Patrick Svoboda of Ecology's Water Resource Program at (425) 649-7077 or Bill Hahn of Kitsap PUD at (360) 779-7656.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
