Watershed Planning > Watershed Planning
Updates by WRIA > Nooksack
Nooksack Watershed Planning -
WRIA 01
Grants awarded through June 2008
$1,248,600
Projected grants July 2008 - June 2009
$763,900
Initiating governments
- Whatcom County
- City of Bellingham
- Public Utility District No. 1
- Lummi Nation
- Nooksack Tribe
Mission Statement
In the broadest terms the object of the project are to assess the
status of the water resources in WRIA 01, determine the best
management strategies to balance the competing demands for water,
and to ensure long-term sustainability of that balance.
Critical to that process is the balance between instream and out-of
stream uses of water, and the provision of adequate future water
supplies for uses such as agriculture, energy production, and
population and economic growth.
Background
The Nooksack Watershed Plan was approved by Whatcom County in June 2005, and
the Nooksack Watershed Phase 4 Implementation Grant was signed in June 2006.
Their detailed implementation plan and water monitoring plan were finished in
July 2007.
Instream flow status
Existing instream flows were set in 1985 (WAC 173-501). As a part of the Watershed Plan, the WRIA
01 Instream Flow Action Plan was developed. This plan describes a basin-by-basin approach to examine instream flow needs and consider treaty reserve water rights for the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe.
The first areas to initiate negotiations were the Bertrand Creek and Middle Fork Nooksack River watersheds, beginning in spring 2006. In 2008 these pilot negotiations were combined and expanded to include the entire Nooksack drainage. By expanding the area of consideration, water managers can better utilize regional resources and address water needs more holistically. The goal is to recommend amendments to the existing instream flow rule in about five years.
Document prepared by the initiating governments
Links, Studies, Data
