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Department of Ecology News Release - November 1, 2001
01-188
SPOKANE - For those who think water is an inexhaustible resource, it's time to think again.
Two public meetings are planned in the Spokane area in mid-November to further explore how much water is available in the Middle Spokane and Little Spokane watersheds compared to how much will be needed in the future.
Local residents are invited to meet with "watershed planners" who have been examining the needs and capacities of the watersheds. The planning unit will report on the progress to date and describe what comes next in the planning process. The planning unit comprises several different local and state agencies and interest groups.
The Spokane Valley meeting will be held in Spokane on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at West Valley High School, 8301 E. Buckeye, in the Multi-Purpose Room. A meeting to accommodate northside residents will be held on Thursday, Nov. 15, at Riverside High School, 4120 E. Deer Park-Milan Rd., in the 2nd-floor library.
Both meetings will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.
Since the project began in 1999, the planning unit and consulting scientists have gathered information about how much water people use in the watersheds and how much water is actually available. The information is now available in a newly completed "data assessment report."
"Our goal is to share this information with the watershed residents and gather comments on what we've got and where we need to go," said Stan Miller, the coordinator for the watershed planning unit. "We'll be asking whether our conclusions are correct about how much water we're currently using and how much water we'll need in the future.
"Water is in short supply, and we need to hear the concerns and insights of the people who have a huge stake in how water is managed," Miller added.
The planning effort for the Middle Spokane and Little Spokane river watersheds soon will enter the third of a three-phase process. The first two phases involved forming the planning unit and gathering information about the watershed. During the third phase, a water-management plan will be created.
The management plan may call for establishing more water-storage facilities, creating strategies to conserve water, and identifying ways to ensure the flows in streams are maintained at a level that sustains a healthy environment for fish.
Spokane County leads the effort for the Middle and Little Spokane watersheds, in concert with Stevens and Pend Oreille counties, the city of Spokane, and the Vera and Whitworth water districts.
Editor/News Director note: Several people with different angles are available to talk with you or your reporters. Please contact Jani Gilbert (below) for story ideas, names and phone numbers.
Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-226-5380.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
