Ecology tackles watershed management

The following article appeared in the August 15, 2007 edition of the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader. 

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Ecology tackles watershed management

By Lyndie Browning, Leader Staff Writer

The name of the game: People, Farms and Fish. The object: to involve the community as the state Department of Ecology (DOE) moves forward in developing an instream flow rule for a water management plan.

The game board, in this case, is Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 17 - an area that covers much of East Jefferson County.
Oh, and don't forget the main rule of the game. If at all possible, make sure there is enough water for everybody - people, farms and fish - while also considering future development needs.

As a key player in this game, Special Assistant to the Director for Water Policy Joe Stohr took the microphone in hand to start the July 31 community forum at Chimacum High School.

"Tonight is a sort of combination platter," Stohr said. "You're going to learn some new information and be allowed to ask questions or make comments on the material."

Thus the game began.

The basics

Over the course of his presentation, Stohr discussed a wealth of watershed-related information. He started out with basic questions: Why do we need this instream flow rule? Why do we need to manage our watershed at all?

According to Stohr, water management is necessary to protect senior rights and instream resources, to meet demand for new uses and to address reliability and flexibility of water supply. Instream resources - a term which makes most people think "salmon" - are officially defined as fish and wildlife, navigation, aesthetics, water quality and livestock watering. All of these needs must be considered as part of the new instream flow rule.
Also pressing is the issue of future development. Jefferson County has seen considerable development in the past 25 years - and expects continued growth. Since 1980, more than 1,000 building permits were issued in the Quimper sub-basin. Nearly 1,400 permits were issued in the Hadlock sub-basin. Vacant lots, ready for development, are abundant.

The instream flow rule hopes to meet the needs of future residents and industry while still respecting senior water rights.

Quimper, Chimacum

These, clearly, are high goals - but what about the nitty-gritty? Stohr recognized that Jefferson County residents are most concerned about how the instream flow rule might impact them.

WRIA 17 is divided into 10 sub-basins. Each sub-basin has a distinct set of management challenges and possibilities - a fact that Stohr emphasized repeatedly, although he did not specifically state that each basin would be managed differently. It remains to be seen whether the instream flow rule will be a nuanced, region-specific plan, or general to all of WRIA 17.

The Quimper sub-basin is an area of past rapid growth and high future growth potential. (The high future growth estimate is based on extent of vacant lots.) Because of Quimper's large amount of coastline - and concentration of development along the coast - exempt wells are especially susceptible to seawater intrusion.

The area served by municipal water in Quimper is considerable. This water is drawn from the Quilcene sub-basin - which, if Quimper continues its rapid growth patterns, might raise issues of priority in the future.

The Chimacum sub-basin faces different concerns. Chimacum Creek is a naturally low-flow system, and it appears at this point that water rights have been over-allocated. In other words, more rights have been issued than there is water to supply them.

However, since there is still water in the creek, documented water rights clearly do not reflect actual use. They are inaccurate and must be revisited. By law, if a water right is not being used, it becomes invalid. Reviewing the validity of water rights would lead to a more accurate estimate of water use and might even open up water rights for junior users.

The Ludlow sub-basin, like Quimper, has seen rapid growth. Like Quimper, it also contains a number of coastal wells that might face danger of saltwater intrusion. Because of a high vacant lot capacity, there is concern that the public system may lack sufficient water rights to meet demand. This high demand might endanger senior water rights.

The Quilcene sub-basin has experienced low population growth but high demand for water due to diversion to Quimper.
Global warming

After Stohr's presentation, audience members voiced concerns about the status and future of WRIA 17. One of the most frequently commented upon topics was global warming.

Since the DOE has not yet reviewed some of the instream flow rules put in place 20 years ago - the department is still trying to get instream flow rules in place in the 60-plus WRIAs across the state - audience members recognized that a long-term plan is vital.

Norm MacLeod later voiced this concern to the county commissioners at the Aug. 6 meeting.

"If you don't have snowpack for three to four years in a row and you don't have storage, you don't have fish," MacLeod said. "You're not going to survive in the long run."

Stohr will no longer be spearheading the development of the WRIA 17 instream flow rule. He is taking a position as deputy director, chief of operations at Fish and Wildlife. Southwest Regional Director Dick Wallace and Southwest Region Supervisor Tom Loranger will be taking Stohr's place in the WRIA 17 project.

DOE welcomes citizen comments and concerns. Stohr stated, "We're available to meet with citizen groups - or to meet one-on-one, have coffee, whatever."

There will be another public meeting in the fall.

"We want to work together to build solutions," Stohr said.
For more information, visit water.jefferson.wsu.edu.

(Contact Lyndie Browning at lynda.browning@gmail.com)