News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 23, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Proposes New Water Supply Legislation

Gov. Gary Locke today unveiled new legislation designed to help Washington secure long-term water supplies for economic stability and jobs while sustaining fish and the environment. The new measures are part of the governor’s multi-year effort to reform the way Washington manages its water supplies.

The four bills being introduced would help local planners implement watershed strategies, give municipal water suppliers incentives to conserve water, help utilities make changes to their existing water rights and make it easier to set water rights in trusts.

“Access to clean, plentiful water is vital for our citizens, our businesses and our environment, but we know that we cannot take it for granted,” Locke said. “These bills are designed to give local communities and water suppliers the tools to make sound, long-term decisions for our future.”

As proposed, the watershed planning bill would require detailed strategies on how water-management plans will be implemented. In return, the state would provide up to $100,000 for each watershed planning unit per year to establish agreements with local governments, tribes, water suppliers and others to implement, monitor and update their plans.

Two other bills would address unresolved issues regarding the management and use of water rights by municipal water suppliers. The first measure clarifies how utilities can maintain an existing water right, even if all of the right is not currently being used. In return, water suppliers would implement comprehensive water conservation and efficiency programs. The other measure would provide increased flexibility to transfer existing groundwater rights to new aquifers.

The final water-supply bill would simplify the procedures for transferring a water right to be held in state trust and would allow watershed or regional water banks to be created.

The governor also has proposed a $16 million package in the state capital budget to help provide safe drinking water, to start planning additional water-storage projects and to help resolve conflicts over agricultural and municipal water use versus the need to preserve fish habitat. This capital spending will result in more private sector construction jobs.

“We have made good progress over the past two years to improve how we manage water, and these additional proposals will allow us to continue and even accelerate our progress,” said Locke.

In 2001 and 2002, the Legislature passed laws providing the Department of Ecology with more funding and greater flexibility to process water-right applications and bolster the use of county conservancy boards to make water-right decisions.



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