Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 12, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke announces drought relief for Eastern Washington farmers and fish

PASCO - Farmers and fish relying on water from the Columbia River and its tributaries will get additional drought relief under a deal announced today by Gov. Gary Locke.

At a news conference here, Locke praised the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the Columbia-Snake Irrigators Association, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and state Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons for their work and cooperation in achieving the agreement.

"This agreement demonstrates what we can achieve when we apply imagination and determination," said Locke. "This is an important next step in our efforts to help Columbia River farmers keep their crops alive during this drought."

The deal includes three main elements:

Some of the water that BPA purchased from farmers at the upper end of the Columbia River will be made available to downstream irrigators whose water rights will be interrupted this year due to low flows in the river. The amount of water should cover about half of the irrigators' remaining needs for this irrigation season.

The BPA will contribute between $1 million and $1.5 million and the Columbia-Snake Irrigators Association will donate $10,000 to purchase water rights to keep water in several Columbia River tributaries where fish are struggling to survive.

Irrigators who accept water acquired from the BPA must take steps to reduce their water use this year and develop plans for implementing additional efficiency measures over the next five years. The Columbia-Snake Irrigators Association will take the lead in documenting and reporting actual water savings that are achieved by its members this year and over the next five years.

The agreement with the irrigation association "represents a significant step in recognizing the efforts farmers have already made to use water efficiently, and I hope it will spur them on to even greater savings in the future," said Locke.

The governor said the state will contribute $800,000 to the entire effort. Most of the money will be used to reimburse the BPA for revenue it will lose since the full volume of water will not flow through all of the power-producing dams. Whatever remains of the funds will be used to buy water in the tributaries for fish.

"This package shows that we don't have to choose between saving farmers or saving fish," Locke said. "That kind of either-or solution fails to serve the overall needs of our state."

People with interruptible water rights from the Columbia River will receive a letter from the Department of Ecology in a few days describing this arrangement in greater detail. They will be given the option to use water acquired from the BPA, which carries specific conditions about implementing and reporting water conservation efforts.

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