The Blog

Jay Manning, Director, Department of Ecology

10/29/08

This week, we issued four new water rights for the city of Camas in Clark County. As a result, the city can draw 4.3 million gallons of new water each day, nearly doubling the amount available to grow its economy and community.

The decision by the Department of Ecology is good for fish and critical habitat, too.

Thanks to the work of a broad coalition representing local and state agencies, tribes, business interests, environmental groups and private citizens, Ecology and Camas had a watershed plan to use as a blueprint for water right decisions.

Based on the plan’s recommendations, the city agreed to shift to new, underground water sources closer to town, and to stop taking water from salmon streams high in the water shed for most of the year.

This will result in stream flow and habitat improvements over 18 stream miles which provide critical habitat to threatened salmon and steelhead. This demonstrates once again that economic vitality and environmental protection go hand in hand.

As Gov. Gregoire has said many times, water is key to our economy. We need clean and adequate sources of water to sustain our communities and the businesses that provide jobs. We also need healthy watersheds that support healthy populations of fish and wildlife. It’s no accident that Forbes, the national business and financial news publisher, ranks Washington among the top three states on two national scorecards - quality of the environment and the business climate. We’re the only state to score in the top three states in both Forbes rankings.

With its new water rights, Camas has the water it needs to attract businesses looking to locate in our region. The city’s leaders have a vision of developing a vibrant urban environment that is protective of its natural resources. They’re showing how well it can be done.