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Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 16, 2000
00-202
SPOKANE - Local efforts to develop a plan for future water use in the Walla Walla River watershed will receive a $47,500 boost on Tuesday from state Sen. Valoria Loveland (D-Pasco) and the state Department of Ecology (Ecology). Another $2,500 has been set aside until the grant is completed.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 11:30 a.m., Loveland will present the Walla Walla County board of commissioners with a check from Ecology to begin the process of "watershed planning" in the Walla Walla River watershed.
The grant will help set up a planning unit with representatives from several different water-user groups and agencies in Walla Walla County. Organizing the planning unit will be the first phase of a three-phase process.
The second phase will be assessing the current use and future needs for surface and ground waters. The third phase will be to develop a plan to address those needs.
"Meeting the needs of residents, agriculture and industry will take a focused effort that includes input from all the water users in the area," Loveland said.
In 1998, the state Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke established a framework for watershed planning and provided money to help local groups pay for their efforts. This grant is part of $4.7 million earmarked for watershed planning statewide this year.
The watershed-planning unit will fold into its process efforts that are already under way to ensure water is available. For example, the city of Walla Walla is undertaking a pilot project to store and recover water from the underground aquifer to meet the needs of residents in the future.
The planning unit will decide which issues will be addressed during its watershed planning process. By law, the planning unit must address water availability, but may include water quality as well.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has listed segments of the Walla Walla River, Mill Creek and the Touchet River as failing to meet water quality standards. Problems include pesticide pollution and high water temperature.
"What the group sees as major priorities will be one of the first orders of business," said Tony Grover, who oversees Ecology's eastern regional office. "People who live and work in the watershed are the best judges of that."
It is anticipated that the local watershed planning effort will complement other ongoing efforts to recover several species of fish listed as threatened or endangered. The Walla Walla watershed is within the Snake River Salmon Recovery Area. The Asotin County Conservation District is managing the recovery area.
Contact: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
For more information about watershed planning: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/watershed/index.html
For more information about threatened and endangered species:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/esa/snake.htm
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
