The water managers of the Yakima River basin in Central Washington know what it is like to fight over water. They know what it is like to be in dire need of water.
The seven Colorado Basin states can't agree on a plan for deep cuts in water use that the federal government wants to avoid disaster.
The water managers of the basin tried a different approach a decade ago. Tired of spending more time in courtrooms than at conference tables, and faced with studies showing the situation would only get worse, they came up with a plan to manage the river for the next 30 years.
The circumstances aren't completely parallel, but some experts on Western water point to the Yakima plan as a model for the kind of cooperative effort that needs to happen on the Colorado
Maurice Hall is the vice president for climate resilient water systems at the Environmental Defense Fund. He said that the Yakima Basin plan was the most complete example of what was needed.
Representative Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat who worked on water issues for years before being elected to Congress, said the plan is the best of a collaborative, science-based process.
She said it was a successful model of bringing science and stakeholders together.
It started out of desperation.
One of the most productive agricultural regions in the country has been adversely affected by climate change and recurring dry spells. They were worried that habitats were drying up. The Indigenous Yakama Nation had been able to harvest trout and salmon for hundreds of years because of the old dams. Many farms had their water allocations slashed.
The years of court fights had left everyone dissatisfied, and a proposal in 2008 for a costly new dam and reservoir that favored some groups over others did not help.
The manager of the south end of the irrigation district went to see the director of the natural resources division. They had been fighting for a long time. Both of them opposed the dam.
Mr. Rigdon said he walked into the meeting. He asked Phil if he could speak. I chuckled and asked if we could. If we did, our attorneys would be very upset.
A plan for better management of the river was developed by the two and other stakeholders. The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan is a plan for ensuring a reliable and resilient water supply for farmers, municipalities, natural habitats and fish.
Ten years into the plan, there are tens of millions of dollars worth of projects up and down the river designed to achieve those goals.
Joe Blodgett, a fisheries project manager for the Yakama Nation, said, "It's an amazing collaboration of all of these different agencies with all of these different interests."
The users of the Colorado feel the same desperation hundreds of miles to the south and east.
The federal government wants the seven states that use the Colorado to cut consumption by up to one-third of the river's normal flow. As climate change takes a toll on the river, painful long-term cuts in water use will be needed.
Many states have been fiercely protective of their share of the river's water. The shares were originally negotiated during a time of wet weather.
One of the agreements that the states have negotiated over the years is a prescribed cut based on water levels in the lower Colorado River. Tensions between the upper basin states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, who collectively use less than their allotted share, and the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona, who use their full share, have been put in the spotlight.
Next year's cuts were missed by the states. The federal government is giving them more time but is threatening to order the reductions.
The Colorado has 40 million people who rely on the state's supply, while the Yakima Basin has 350,000 people who rely on it. Roughly 75 percent of the country's hops are produced in the basin, but agricultural production along the Colorado is bigger.
The Yakima River is one-seventh the length of the Colorado and is within a single state. The only tribe with rights to Colorado water is the Yakama Nation.
Some water managers in Colorado don't think the Yakima plan is a good model.
Jim Lochhead is the chief executive of Denver Water, which supplies drinking water to the city and surrounding communities. It's hard to agree on a grand solution when you have a lot of stakeholders.
Those who are familiar with the plan say the principle of shared sacrifice and cooperation can apply anywhere.
The director of the Columbia River office of the Department of Ecology said that everyone can't get everything they want. The plan is based on if they can get something.
The early white settlers who arrived after a treaty was signed between the federal government and the Yakama Nation used the river a lot. Irrigation systems were built as a result of the damming and diversion of the river. In dry years, water shortages became an issue, leading to decades of conflicts.
Prior to the Colorado, there were efforts to make sure a stable supply. State and federal officials came up with a plan to improve fish passage after another severe dry spell.
It wasn't sufficient. Urban Eberhart grew up on a farm in the basin and now manages the Kittitas Reclamation District.
We started getting them back-to-back and then three in a row instead of just being one of these.
As the world continued to warm, the bureau undertook a study of the basin to see how it would fare. There is a drive to develop a plan.
Mr. Eberhart said that what they went through was nothing compared to where they were headed. There was a growing feeling that something had to be done. If we don't act, the economy will not be recognized.
Mr. Eberhart said that the meetings on the plan were very time consuming. It gave participants time to take breaks and lunches together.
Over time, all of us who were very suspicious of each other would talk, and that turned into friendship, trust and respect.
Mr. Rigdon of the Yakama Nation said that now is the time for a project to get a lot of support. He said that they had understood what the other side needed. They aren't the other side anymore.
Projects that benefit more than one group of stakeholders can be seen throughout the basin.
Improvements to the irrigation district are helping save water and improve fish habitat.
The canals in Mr. Eberhart's irrigation district have been used to deliver water to long-dried up streams.
Several projects are being built to increase water storage in order to survive dry years. The old Nelson Dam has been removed and replaced with an engineered channel that will allow passage of both fish and boats, as well as reducing flooding in the city.
George Brown is the city's assistant public works director. Everybody will agree if you do that.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
