OLYMPIA — The state Department of Ecology will launch an online forum on water management reform Monday.
Ecology will launch the Water Smart Washington Online Forum before noon on its website at www.ecy.wa.gov/, the agency said on its blog at http://tinyurl.com/2be9dba.
Ecology is considering “significant changes” in how the state’s water resources program is operated and funded, the agency said in a statement.
The agency is considering such measures as:
• Reducing the program’s reliance on the state general fund by asking the state Legislature to require users of water resource services to fund more of those services.
• Improving the processing of water right applications.
• Asking the state Legislature to update ‘antiquated and unclear” laws to reduce excessive litigation that consumes about 10 percent of the program budget, which amounted to about $1.3 million during the past fiscal year.
Question of the week
Ecology plans a “question of the week” for the forum on how to improve funding and operations of the state’s Water Resources Program.
A sample question, according to the agency statement, is:
“Currently state taxpayers, through the state general fund, pay for more than 98 percent of the cost of processing water right applications for agriculture or commercial uses, with the cost of processing averaging about $10,000 per application.
“Should those who want to use the water of Washington pay a larger portion or even the full cost of processing their water right applications?”
Comments will be posted online and questions on water management regulations and reform will be answered, the agency said, with contributions to the forum categorized and archived.
Mb>Policy reform
The comments “will help shape the policy initiatives Ecology is considering and the proposed legislation that Ecology will be requesting to reform water resource management in Washington state,” the statement said.
“The era of cheap, abundant water supplies is over,” said Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant.
“With population growth, the need for economic development, the challenges of restoring fish runs and coping with climate change, unless we change the way we manage our water resources, there won’t be enough water to meet essential needs.”
Ecology said that the water resources program’s ongoing mission “is to work with Washington communities in support of sustainable water resources management to meet the present and future water needs of people and the natural environment.
“Efforts to fulfill the mission have been handicapped in recent years by inconsistent funding resulting from dependence on the state general fund and the need to update 19th century-based water laws which are inadequate to meet 21st century challenges,” the statement said.
The introductory video for the online forum is available now on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/2cr5xox.