Moving Into The Future
Moving Into The Future. I'm Greg Martin with Washington Ag Today.
The Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan is a model plan that many water districts throughout the U.S. are using. But the future is uncertain and plans are being made to offset water shortages. Urban Eberhart, manager of the Kittitas Reclamation District says they have now created phase three.
EBERHART: Which is mapping out the next 30 years of what we're going to do to all survive in the Yakima Basin. We prepared this with the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan workgroup that's made up of the Yakima Nations, several federal agencies, state agencies, the irrigation interests in the Basin, the local governments, the counties and cities and also we brought in environmental interest to help us out.
Eberhart says there is more to the plan than just additional water supply.
EBERHART: We have to make sure we're not having a negative impact on threatened or endangered species so as part of the integrated plan process there is a bull trout enhancement work that has to be done.
Work is being done with sockeye salmon as well. In addition, Eberhart says there is some new legislation being worked on.
EBERHART: In late June, Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray introduced our Yakima bill in the U.S. Senate. There was a hearing on July 7th. It went through discussions We got the final wording worked out, got markup out of the committee so now we are on the full floor of the U.S. Senate waiting to be attached to anything that is germane. Also we're anticipating something similar to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
And that's Washington Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.
