  |
|
|
Department of Ecology News Release - December 23, 2008
08-338
OLYMPIA – State Ecology director Jay Manning has signed two new rules that will protect stream flows and preserve water supplies for people, farms and fish in the Lewis (WRIA 27) and Salmon-Washougal (WRIA 28) river basins in Southwest Washington.
The new rules promote the sound management of water supplies in these two Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) where fish are most vulnerable. At the same time, the rules result in more sustainable water sources for public use and where impacts to the environment are less severe.
Manning said this strategy will result in win-win gains for the local communities by proactively managing limited water resources to meet both growth and environmental demands.
“The work leading to these rules is a testament to cooperation in the Lewis and Salmon-Washougal River basins where community stakeholders, tribes, cities and Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties took ownership of their future and developed a plan for managing and protecting their important water resources,” Manning said. The rules are based on five years of work by the local watershed planning unit and will guide future water decisions in these two watersheds. The diverse stakeholder group was led by the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board.
Already, communities like Camas have used the watershed plan to successfully acquire new water rights that reduce surface water withdrawals from water-critical headwaters and switch to more plentiful groundwater supplies. The rules establish minimum stream flows for the Kalama, North Fork Lewis, East Fork Lewis and Washougal River mainstems in addition to 30 smaller streams. They close most surface and groundwater sources to new year-round uses, but provide limited exceptions and establish limited amounts of water (reserves) that can still be granted under specific circumstances.
They also identify areas in the lower portions of the watershed as regional supply areas, where new, year-round groundwater withdrawals could be granted without impacting streams.
Ecology held three meetings in August which coincided with a public comment period for the draft rules. The adopted rule language is available on Ecology’s Web site:
###
Media Contacts:
Kim Schmanke, media relations, 360-407-6239 (desk)
Scott McKinney, Shorelands program, 360-407-6389 (desk)
For more information:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/lewis_salmon_washougal.html
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0811006.pdf
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
