With over 1,300 miles of shoreline in the Puget Sound and some16, 000 miles of streams, lakes and river frontage to boot, our region is defined by water. Yet planning by watershed is a relatively new concept — one that both regulators and the regulated seem reticent to act on.

While suppliers struggle to meet the current and future needs of projected population growth, comparatively little is planned to improve water efficiency or take effective actions on water conservation. Recent research by water suppliers has shown that conservation costs less than treating, storage, developing new sources and the expensive infrastructure that goes with it. In fact, relatively small measures would conserve 40 million gallons per day and result in $7 million annual savings in our state!

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission last week called for citizens of the state to take heed of a Dec. 11 report by the World Water Council (WWC) that named the United States the most inefficient water user of 147 countries studied. The WWC rates countries according to water resources, access, capacity, use and environmental impact.

“The report does not surprise me,” said Billy Frank, Jr., chairman of the NWIFC, which serves the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington in their role as co-managers of the fisheries resource with the state. “The tribes have told people repeatedly that water is a critical resource that cannot be taken for granted. It is needed, in the streams and rivers, to sustain fish and wildlife as well as every living being in the Pacific Northwest. Yet there never seems to be an end to the increasing demand for it by municipalities, developers and the agriculture industry. They consistently demand more quantity, just as they persistently poison what’s left with everything from pesticides to sewage discharge,” he said.

“Water shortages and water borne illnesses kill millions of people and even more animals in the world every year. This is a very serious issue. These tendencies to demand and pollute more water and to fail to be efficient are jeopardizing the health of everyone who lives here, and yet local, state and federal governments have failed to do much about it. In effect, the state has encouraged it,” he said, citing water bills that have emanated from the state legislature over the past few years.

Tribal leaders are putting the final touches on a series of guiding principles they believe the state must abide by to be in concert with tribal water rights. It is anticipated the principles will be published in January, along with a concerted effort to inform and educate the Governor’s Office, legislators and public about these rights, as well as continue efforts to encourage the state to enforce water law.

“The Attorney General’s recently published report regarding federally reserved water rights falls well short of the mark,” said Frank. “Tribes are senior water right holders in this state, and the retention of water in streams and rivers for fish and wildlife is our most pressing environmental issue. Tribes will not be ignored or pushed aside on this,” he said. “Nor should other people.”

The tribes have issued statements following recent water summits in recognition of the need for protecting water resources for fish, wildlife, environmental health and quality of life for all of Washington’s future generations. The statements have called for tribal and non-tribal governments to build off each other’s strengths and work together toward better water management. “We really want to encourage people to get involved with this issue, by letting their legislative and other government officials know how they feel,” said Frank.

Discussions over reforming Washington’s water laws will likely continue through the 2003 legislative session. While the outcome will have significant environmental and economic implications, critics feel that legislators have paid only lip service to meaningful water conservation measures.

As Art Schick, who manages water resources for the Suquamish tribe advised, “Past planning has been to bring in more people to the region as if there were an endless supply. It failed to take into account the time immemorial, federally reserved water rights for both homeland reservation and the treaty-based (older) stream water rights – much of which has not been quantified.”

In the current Washington Water Rights system, senior rights trump junior and the tribes hold the oldest, highest standing rights, which supersedes current state or local water rights. The Watershed Management Act through HB 2514, RCW 90.82, required cities; counties and water purveyors to do localized planning. The funding, managed by the Washington State Department of Ecology, established Kitsap County as the lead for Water Resource Inventory Area 15 (WRIA 15) which includes the whole Kitsap peninsula, to Belfair, parts of Pierce and even King county.

Schick pondered, ”Since we’re all using the same water supply left fairly unquantified, what if junior users were to be shut off to feed older rights? There may not be enough to share in forty years when the tribe and others may need to exercise their water rights. Right now the minimum legal instream flows are not being met in many area streams, including Gorst creek. Still, they are exempt to drill into the aquifer which feeds into the stream and is recharged through the gravely areas under the stream in that whole valley. There are no such “water police” to prevent misuse because it is unpopular and lacks funding.”

Dave Fuller, a hydrogeologist working for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe explained, “There are estimates of relative changes in hydrology between “native” conditions and urbanizing conditions for shallow unconfined aquifer systems, but the recharge percentage component degrades as you try to move the groundwater recharge through aquitards to deeper aquifers. The majority of Kitsap County groundwater supply is from confined aquifer systems. The decrease in recharge and recharge percentages with depth through one or more aquitards is dramatic. The USGS Bangor study and other regional studies hopefully will provide us with sideboards on water supply sustainability.”

That is the concept and issue in Kitsap County for determining sustainable water supply. The USGS Bangor study estimated approximately 25 percent recharge to the shallow systems but also that about 70 percent of that recharge “quickly” discharged from the shallow system as springs and groundwater base flow to streams. Clearly there is a need to preserve native vegetation to maintain recharge for streams and higher percentage opportunities for maintaining deeper systems.”

Individually, we can make a difference by getting involved in local legislation, learning about water conservation, or joining community groups already organized in projects and public education efforts. The Nearshore Habitat Evaluation and Enhancement Project on Liberty Bay offers free workshops on native plant vegetation, water quality, reducing stormwater runoff and promoting water ‘recycling’ in every day use. Check their web page for current educational workshops and activities at www.libertybayfoundation.com.