Headwaters News Forum: Water in the West
Topic - What role for Westerners?

editor
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 8:31 am   Subject: What role for Westerners?

What role should residents of the West have in deciding changes in water laws and use?

Howard Neibling
Location: Twin Falls, ID
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 7:35 pm   Subject: Role of water in the west

Availability of irrigation water is key for economic sustainability in many agricultural production areas of the west. For example, according to a Univ. Idaho study, crop production and the processing of those crop accounted for 77% of the gross regional product in South-central Idaho. Because water availablity so directly affects the lives of almost everyone in this region, the citizens of the region should play a major role in decisions regarding water. In many cases the residents are proactive, recognizing water quality and quantity problems and suggesting locally-determined solutions. Solutions developed from the area have the most potential for success because the local citizens are most familiar with the problems, human and environmental constraints, economic and environmental impacts. One example of this proactive approach was in the development of the Mid-Snake TMDL for water quality improvement. Industies contributing to the problem each proposed solutions that would improve water quality yet be compatible with operations in their industry. Irrigated agriculture developed a plan to reduce both sediment and phosphorus loading to the river from irrigation return flows. It involved farmer education, new technology and monitoring to determine the success of the efforts.

Gens
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 7:40 pm

Howard, You describe a process of local involvement that invited existing water users to the table. Are you aware of opportunities for "ordinary citizens" that may not be existing water users or rights holders to be involved in the process, the discussion?

David Getches
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 8:05 pm   Subject: Getting involved

Howard is right that there is plenty of room for people to be involved in water decisions. In fact, (to intrude on the topic of another forum) we would not have to discuss making major changes in the law if more ordinary citizens who are concerned about pollution or endangered species or use of rivers for recreation actually committed time and effort to "fix" the problems. There are over 200 local watershed groups around the West where business people, environmentalists, ranchers, scientists, local officials, and others have come together to forge common sense solutions to water problems they share. Their motives may be different, but their care for the river is mutual. And many of them have no water rights.

Gens Johnson
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 8:13 pm

Do you think that the big Federal dollars being spent in the coming year(s) on salmon recovery, but controlled locally, will move "multiple uses of water in the river" kinds of thinking forward? Will the salmon recovery dollars help irrigators with costs of making their irrigation system more efficient?

Lynn Tominaga
Location: Idaho
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 8:58 pm   Subject: Western Use

We cannot produce more water than what is available for use. What must be done is to manage the supplies to meet the needs of all uses with out causing economic chaos or unintended results that could cause new or more problems than the existing system or standard. The need to educate our policy makers and the public to the competing needs must be done so that continued use of water for Western users can be met.

Bill Loftus
Location: Moscow, Idaho
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 9:12 pm   Subject: Educating policy makers

There have been intense efforts to educate policy makers about Western water needs since John Wesley Powell went down the Colorado River. The efforts succeeded in creating major irrigation and flood control developments. The investments yielded impressive economic returns to western states.

That tide has turned, though. Hanging on to the economy that agriculture has built will require making adjustments with the water developments already in place.

That will mean accommodating other uses with the supplies we have. Look at last year's energy crisis. Hydropower found a way to free up more water to generate more electricity to meet demands.

Howard Neibling
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 9:37 pm   Subject: TMDL involvement

I am familiar with development of several of the TMDL's on the Snake River in Southern Idaho. In each, the Watershed advisory committee (WAG) had membership from not only Ag and other industry water users but also from recreation and Dept of Fish and Game. The WAG meetings were open to the public.

Lynn Tominaga
Location: Idaho
Posted: Sat May 18, 2002 7:12 pm   Subject: Role of Westerners?

The western water rights system of prior appropriations was developed to meet the needs of pioneer settlers and developers of the the arid West. The principles of priority and beneficial use helped to protect the hard work and investments that were required to convert sagebrush to growing crop lands. Today, the West is settled. When we think of converting ag lands to something of a higher nature which we often think of subdivisions, a ski area, or office buildings than the old yesteryear of farmland.

I believe the present western water right system has the flexibility to make changes necessary to meet the demands of current society. The challenge of western water needs has become a question of reallocating senior priority water rights. Most western states have tackled that challenge by evolving water rights to a system of water right transfers, adding beneficial uses, water marketing, water leasing, water salvage or conservation, instream flow protection, and temporary or conditional water use permits are in place. The use of these different processes has enabled people to put into practice the changing needs for water use.

It should be the people or groups in these wesern states to use the state processes which will meet their needs.