Our Sustainable Northwest

A Reporter and Activist Notebook: Water Stakeholders on the Columbia Basin

There are too many water stakeholders on the Columbia River Basin to list in one article. From federal regulators to citizen groups, from industry representatives to state legislators, there are hundreds of organizations dedicated to this region and its water.  This article is an overview of some of the key players in the great water debates underway across the Northwest.  Learn about some federal, state, and local agencies and how to get active on YOUR watershed.

Federal Agencies

First in line is the Bureau of Reclamation, which is part of the Department of the Interior, Pacific Northwest Region.

Our goal is to meet the increasing water needs of the Pacific Northwest while protecting the environment and the public's investment. The Pacific Northwest region encompasses the Columbia River Basin, which includes the states of Idaho and Washington, most of Oregon, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. Water is supplied from 54 reservoirs with a total active capacity of approximately 18 million acre-feet. Power production facilities at Grand Coulee Dam are among the largest in the world. Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is widely known for the construction of dams, power plants, and canals in the western portion of the United States, including those in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The Bureau is the largest wholesaler of water in the United State, and has ongoing projects within Washington, including the Lake Roosevelt Letdown.

 Established in 1937, The Bonneville Power Administration is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Energy.

BPA serves the Pacific Northwest through operating an extensive electricity transmission system and marketing wholesale electrical power at cost from federal dams, one non-federal nuclear plant and other non-federal hydroelectric and wind energy generation facilities. BPA aims to be a national leader in providing high reliability, low rates consistent with sound business principles, responsible environmental stewardship and accountability to the region.

In 1970 The United States Environmental Protection Agency was developed. The EPA gives the US Government the ability to establish and implement guidelines to improve environmental conditions in America.

The EPA employs 17,000 people across the country, including our headquarters offices in Washington, DC, 10 regional offices, and more than a dozen labs. Our staff are highly educated and technically trained; more than half are engineers, scientists, and policy analysts. In addition, a large number of employees are legal, public affairs, financial, information management and computer specialists.

Tribes

The Yakima Nation, the confederated tribes of the Colville Reservation, and the Spokane Tribe are three important tribes in the greater Columbia Basin actively involved in these water debates.

Following the western water law value of "first in line, first in rights", it is impossible to overlook tribal authority when you are planning your water future.  Here's a link to federally-recognized tribes in Washington State.

State and Local Agencies

Our regional water regulator, Washington's Department of Ecology, is involved in everything from water quality to water distribution and use.

We are working closely with Washington communities and their citizens to provide effective water management. Historically, Washington residents have enjoyed an abundance of water, but water availability is no longer a luxury. We are committed to meeting current water needs and ensuring future water availability for people, fish and the natural environment.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife actively pursues the protection of fish by monitoring their natural habitat.

The agency's mission is to provide sound stewardship of fish and wildlife. The health and well-being of fish and wildlife is important not only to the species themselves, but to humans as well. Often, when fish and wildlife populations are threatened, their decline can predict environmental hazards or patterns that also may have a negative impact on people.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Priority Habitats and Species (PHS) List, monitors specific species of concern, adding in the conservation and protection of a diverse variety of Washington’s fish and wildlife.

Washington State Department of Health monitors a number of potential health concerns including health related illness from exposure to environmental hazards.

The Department of Health works with its federal, state and local partners to help people in Washington stay healthier and safer. Our programs and services help prevent illness and injury, promote healthy places to live and work, provide education to help people make good health decisions and ensure our state is prepared for emergencies.

Within the Department of Health, the Division of Environmental Health monitors environmental concerns including drinking water, fish safety facts, and wastewater management.

Washington Public Utility Districts or PUDs are nonprofit, community-owned and governed utilities that provide electricity, water, wholesale telecommunications and sewer service.

The mission of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association is to support, protect and enhance its members’ ability to provide not-for-profit, locally controlled utility services for the people of Washington.

The State of Washington has 28 PUDs operating in the areas of electricity (23), water (19), and broadband telecommunications (13).

Citizen and Special Interest Groups

There are dozens of groups in Washington State that act as conservation advocates, policy advocates and educational proponents. This summer, Our Northwest published an article called Adopt Your Watershed, which links to a very robust EPA data base which includes information on everything from pollutants to legislators, to groups active in watersheds across the nation. It's a great place to begin your research.

For the past 22 years, The Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute has focused on improving citizen involvement by providing citizens of the Palouse with first-hand experience in watershed restoration though projects such as Adopt- a-Stream, Rose Creek Preserve, Learning Nursery and others.

Here's a summary of the recent activities of two more advocacy groups:  In October of 2008, Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia Riverkeeper caught the media’s attention with their opposition to the Lake Roosevelt drawdown. These two organizations challenged the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation after appealing two water decisions made by the Washington State Department of Ecology.  Read more about the appeal.

CELP’s mission is to protect and restore the freshwater resources of western Washington and the Columbia River watershed through education, policy reform, agency advocacy, and public interest litigation.

If you are interested in becoming actively involved in your area’s watershed groups, visit the EPA’s Surf your Watershed page, or to get involved in PECI visit their watershed volunteer page

Snowpack and Water Reserves: A Conversation with Mike Barber

The following transcription is of an interview between water expert, Mike Barber and NWPR correspondent, Glenn Mosley.

Posted Thursday, June 11, 2008

This is Sueann Ramella with "Our Northwest Water," a series of conversations on-air and online about water conservation in the Northwest, with correspondent Glenn Mosley and Mike Barber, Director of the State of Washington Water Research Center at WSU.

In the Pacific Northwest we rely on “snowpack” to supply our water needs during the summer months just ahead. Today we address challenges to our water reserves that will be brought on by climate change.

Glenn:

This week we'd like to talk a little bit about climate change and water. Mike do you think climate change is going to serve as a catalyst for action?

Mike:

Well I think it will, anything that raises the public's awareness of what types of challenges are going to be faced in the future is a catalyst, and can be used as such.

Part 2: Water in the West - A Study in Cooperation

Transcription of June 5th Interview with Michael (Mike) Barber
Director of the State of Washington Water
Resource Center at WSU.

This is Sueann Ramella with "Our Northwest Water," a series of conversations on-air and online about water conservation in the Northwest. Today, we continue our conversation about the importance of water to the Pacific Northwest ecosystem. Correspondent Glenn Mosley speaks with Michael Barber, Director of the State of Washington Water Resource Center at WSU about the challenges we face in getting science and public policy to work together. They began with a recap of the “Water in the Pacific Northwest” conference held last November in Stevenson, WA. The theme of the conference, according to Mike Barber, was moving science into action:

<Mike Barber>
Well... We had a very successful conference and we had people from all disciplines, ah, scientists, politicians, policy makers, decision makers... all talking and communicating, and that’s the first step.  The long term goals is that people have to understand that policy is not all science, and that over time you work toward a common solution that works in terms of peoples values, economics and science.

Adopt Your Watershed and Get Active

If you would like to:

• Protect and restore ecosystems and ensure healthy airsheds and watersheds;
• Prevent pollution through source reduction;
• Reduce the generation of land, air, and water pollutants;
• Cleanup contaminated sites;
• Enforce federal environmental laws; and
• Conserve our valuable resources,

there is a citizen group ready and waiting for you! The EPA has developed a tool called "Surf your Watershed" so that you can find your watershed and learn about the issues and concerns of your fellow citizens. It's a great way to learn about the watershed that feeds YOUR tap and find a citizen group active in preserving and maintaining water quality.

Part 1: Where DOES Water Come From?

Aired May 29th, 2008 (transcript)

This is Sueann Ramella with "Our Northwest Water," a series of conversations on-air and online about water conservation in the Northwest.

Today, it's a conversation about the importance of water to our ecosystem and how we might all better conserve this precious resource. Correspondent Glenn Mosley spoke with Michael Barber, Director of the State of Washington Water Resource Center at WSU. They explored how conservation stems from understanding where water comes from - and, according to Mike Barber, people really don't know...

Mike:

We've done surveys, many people...you know... say well it’s the tap <laughs>, and without really sitting down to think about does it come from the stream? Does it come from groundwater? Is it a combination of both? Um, who else might be using it along the system? All sorts of issues about where does it go afterwards and how is it treated and discharged and all that sort of thing.  People need to know that, people need to be aware of conservation efforts that they can undertake.  People need to understand the cost in terms of not just the water bill that comes in, but the cost to the environment and to society in general, of all of there actions.

Enviros Recruit Ratepayers into Dam Fight

November 14, 2007

OREGON/Environmental groups and an Indian tribe are stepping up pressure on Portland-based Pacific Power. They're recruiting utility ratepayers into a fight over dam removal on the Klamath River.

Tom Banse reports.

When The Levee Breaks…On Purpose

October 31, 2007

OREGON/Water is spilling onto farmland next to Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon. That's because nearly two miles of levees were destroyed in a series of explosions Tuesday morning. But it was no accident.

Chris Lehman explains.

Proposed Reservoir Could Leach Radioactive Waste

September 19, 2007

Two federal reports show the controversial and expensive Black Rock Reservoir proposed in the Yakima Valley could leach under the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and let radioactive waste ooze into the Columbia River.

Spokane Public Radio's Amanda Loder reports.

Milestone Reached in Removal of Elwha Dams

September 17, 2007

WASHINGTON/Construction crews broke ground Friday afternoon on a new drinking water treatment plant on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It's a key step in the eventual removal of two dams on the Elwha River.

Read more on the story.

Study for Storage of Columbia River Water Approved

September 11, 2007

KENNEWICK/Will there be enough water for the people of the Columbia River basin? The city of Kennewick in Eastern Washington is proposing a solution: a giant underground reservoir to store river water.

Anna King explains.