Washington’s water policies are unsustainable and put water rights and fish at risk. To see what uncontrolled water use can do, we need only to look at California, where years of reckless and short-sighted water policy has left the state parched and desperate to maintain its communities and businesses.
Unfortunately, despite witnessing our neighbors in crisis, Washington is following just a few years behind. We are giving out more water than our rivers can provide, without regard for what has already been accounted for, and it is costing us.
Already this year, abnormally low flows have prematurely shut off fishing opportunities in the Cowlitz and Washougal rivers, and have led to voluntary curtailment policies in Kelso. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising. 2018 marks the the fifth year where water supply and fish runs in Southwest Washington have tracked well below expected levels.
In 1988, tribal, sport and commercial fishing generated an income in Washington state to support 60,000 jobs, and that is just fishing. Rivers also support our agriculture, forestry, recreation and daily lives, but this capacity to provide irreplaceable benefits we need and use daily is in dire straights.
For the sustainable expansion of business and recreation, Washington needs to prosper, as well as the preserve of our natural beauty and resources that set us aside from the rest of the country. We have to do more now before we wake up in California’s shoes, struggling to preserve a fraction of our resource.
The Center for Environmental Law and Policy is working to ensure we maintain healthy rivers for our communities and environment, particularly in Southwest Washington. If you would like to help us make a difference, or have some information about your local river that you would like to share, please feel free to reach out to me at nmanning@celp.org, or give us a call at (206) 829-8299.
Nick Manning
Seattle
