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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, September 13, 2004
Contact:
-
For technical information, Tom Clingman, Thurston County Department of Water
and Waste Managementt, 360-
357-2491 ext. 6809
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For quotes about the WRIA 13
effort, Virgil Clarkson, chairman of the
WRIA 13 Planning Committee, 491-3214
September
Meetings Focus on Draft Deschutes Watershed Plan
OLYMPIA
-- Balancing the water needs of a growing population without damaging stream
flows is the centerpiece of a draft watershed plan now available for public
review. The plan focuses on Water
Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 13, which embraces the Eld, Budd/Deschutes, and
Henderson Inlet watersheds.
Citizens
are invited to learn more about the plan and share their views at public
meetings scheduled for:
1.
Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Rainier Sportsman’s Club, 404 Alaska Street
in Rainier.
2.
Thursday, Sept. 23 at the Tumwater Fire Station, 311 Israel Road S.W.
in Tumwater.
Both meetings will begin with an open house at 6:30 p.m.
followed by presentations at 7
p.m.
The
draft WRIA 13 watershed plan contains 75 recommendations ranging from water
rights to water quality and habitat protection. The plan seeks to have:
ü
Additional monitoring devices installed
near the Deschutes River to help reveal how aquifers affect stream flows.
ü
WRIA 13 water rights and claims mapped
into a geographic information system and linked to a database.
ü
Better enforcement of metering
requirements and other conditions placed on water rights.
ü
A
"water bank" created for WRIA 13, where water-rights holders who
don't need their entire allotment of water can make excess water available to
others.
ü
Small
proposed community wells that are exempt from permit-requirements undergo a
review process to gauge how the wells might affect stream flows.
ü
Maps
and plans created to make reclaimed water available for non-drinking uses,
such as irrigation. Reclaimed water is used water that has been thoroughly
cleaned and made available for other uses.
ü
Regional
water-conservation and water-quality plans launched within WRIA 13.
The
draft plan was written by the WRIA 13 Watershed Planning Committee.
Its members represent state, tribal and local governments, as well as
business and environmental interests. Also represented on the committee are
the sport fishing, building, forestry and aquaculture interests.
The
Planning Committee has been meeting for the past three years under the
authority of the 1998 Watershed Management Act; a law that encourages local
communities to develop plans for protecting local water resources and habitat.
The plan must be approved by all
government representatives and a majority of non-government representatives on
the committee before going to the Thurston County Board of Commissioners. More
information is available on the internet by selecting the "WRIA 13"
button on the Water and Waste Management pages of the Thurston County web site
at www.co.thurston.wa.us/wwm.
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