OLYMPIA, WA – NOVEMBER 14, 2002
With the first local watershed plans due to be completed next year, the governor and state policy-makers are beginning to look at what it will take to get them implemented.
Gov. Gary Locke, state lawmakers, Department of Ecology officials and others involved in watershed planning will be featured at a conference next
Tuesday, Nov. 19 entitled “Washington’s Water Future: Implementing Watershed Solutions.”
The location will be the Rhodes Center, located at 949 Market St., in Tacoma.
The morning will be devoted to hearing and discussing the recommendations of
a committee that spent the summer and fall examining what kind of
coordination and oversight will be needed, and how much it will cost, to
implement the 33 watershed plans that currently are in the works across the
state.
The afternoon will feature a keynote speech by Locke, followed by two panel
discussions, all focused on how to pay for implementing the watershed plans
and for much-needed improvements to Washington’s water-supply and treatment
systems.
The conference will begin at 9 a.m. and end at around 4:30 p.m., with a break for lunch. The governor’s remarks will begin immediately after the lunch break, at 1:15 p.m.
Washington’s watershed planning law was adopted by the legislature in 1998
to encourage cities, counties, water purveyors and tribes to develop
water-management plans for major watersheds within their jurisdictions.
There are 62 such watersheds in Washington, with 42 currently involved in watershed planning. (In eight cases, multiple watersheds are being addressed
under a single plan.)
Eight plans are expected to complete the four-year planning process by next
fall.
“Watershed planning is a great way for local communities to consider their
future water needs and make sure they’ll have a sufficient supply of clean water,” said Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons, who will emcee the
conference. “The governor’s vision for watershed planning has been very
successful, and now we need to take the next important step to make sure the
plans don’t end up on a shelf.”
More information about the conference is available at
Water 2002
Media contact: Sheryl Hutchison
360-407-7004
Note: Reporters are welcome to attend the conference.
Ecology’s Web site: Washington State Dept of Ecology
