New report on Washington's Water Future

April 3, 2008 | Storage & Stream Flows

Amy Souers Kober
Senior Director of Communications

From my office I can see the peaks of the North Cascades, which in some places are covered with 40 percent above average snowpack. This is good news for the salmon, farmers, fishermen, and boaters who depend on water in our rivers through the summer.

But scientists tell us that with global warming and population growth, drought and water shortages will become more and more common in the coming years, even in the traditionally wet parts of our region.

Thatss why we need to change how we think about and manage water. Our new report, Before the Well Runs Dry: Water Solutions for Washington (PDF), covers the challenges as well as commonn sense solutions.

Solutions proposed in the report include:

• Requiring the collection and reporting of basic information essential to smart water management
• Securing adequate flow protections to support healthy rivers and streams
• Closing loopholes that allow unsustainable water use and infringement of water rights
• Requiring and promoting efficient water use
• Promoting natural stormwater management
• Requiring development to be consistent with a sustainable water supply
• Preventing illegal water use

The report was created in partnership with Washington Environmental Council and Washington Rivers Conservancy.

You can download the full PDF report or view the interactive report online.

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