Groups meet to update Walden on Walla Walla River Basin plan A $200,000 feasibility study will provide the groups with information they need to better manage the basin.
By Kristi Pihlof the Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER - ``As they say, whiskey's for drinking and water's for fighting,'' said U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
WALDEN
But it was all talk and no fight at a Wednesday meeting to update Walden on the Walla Walla River Basin feasibility study and the status of the flow in the Walla Walla River. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working on the study.
In the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, HR 2641, $200,000 is earmarked for this feasibility study, Walden said.
``It was less than what we asked for,'' but he hopes the Senate will pass a higher earmark for the project. If it does, the Senate and the House will negotiate the difference.
The bill would still need the president's approval.
It is hoped the $200,000 for this project would help complete the technical aspects of the feasibility study by the end of this year, said N. Kathryn Brigham, secretary of the Tribes' board of trustees.
All the parties involved agree they plan to be here for the next seven generations, Brigham said. Their goal is to keep the basin healthy.
The feasibility study explores five options, said Chris Hyland, Corps project manager.
The water exchange option would pipe Columbia River water approximately 33 miles to Milton-Freewater for use by irrigators, while the water already in the Walla Walla River would be left there. With the Pine Creek reservoir, water would be diverted during the winter and later released to irrigators, while the water in the river would remain in the river.
The study also looks at irrigation efficiency to reduce the amount of water diverted from the river, buying water rights from irrigators on a small scale and recharging the shallow aquifer, Hyland said.
It is important to have sci-
ence that all sides can agree on and the feasibility study will give it to them, Brigham said.
``We all know none of us can live without water,'' she said.
Irrigators, the Tribes and industries have different demands for the Walla Walla River, said Brian Wolcott, Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council coordinator. The council has been involved with the study by providing a venue for the Corps to present its findings and get local feedback and by providing hydrology information about water quality and quantity to the Corps.
One of the challenges is once the water crosses the Oregon-Washington border into Washington, the water is treated differently, said Armand Minthorn, Tribes' board of trustees member.
Improvements made on the Oregon side are lessened once the water crosses the border, he said.
Brigham asked Walden to help get the conversation started between the two states.
There needs to be a way to protect the water once it leaves Oregon, Hyland said. The states and Tribes will need to figure that out before the project starts, since it wouldn't make sense to start building a system to increase flow when they can't protect the flow, Hyland said.
For the the first time in 100 years, the river flowed all year round in 2001, Wolcott said. However, the river still has low flow problems, which is why a federal project is necessary.
Currently, more water in the aquifer is used than is replaced, said Bob Bower, Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council hydrologist. The aquifer is like a bathtub with five layers of gravel in it. The water in the aquifer needs to be replaced at the same rate it is used for a healthy system. The aquifer relates to the low flow problems in the river because it provides the river's base flow.
Melinda Eden, Milton-Freewater resident and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Oregon council member, said Walden should do something about the proposed Black Rock reservoir project in the Yakima Basin, which would take water out of the Columbia River and increase local water problems.
Water won't do local farmers much good if the government doesn't figure out a better way of dealing with immigration issues, said local apple farmer Ron Brown. Without the local Hispanic population ``the water will probably become a non-issue.'' Brown said the possibility of a lack of a local food source concerns him more than the terrorist issues.
Walden agreed with Brown that the government should be able to figure out a different option for an agricultural work force other than the H-2A Certification Program for Temporary and Seasonal Work, which doesn't work well for agriculture.
Walden encouraged everyone to keep the pressure on their U.S. senators to pass Senate Bill S.1751, which includes earmarked funds for the feasibility study.
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gary ellis wrote on Aug 10, 2007 8:56 AM:
" The Walla Walla Basin study and project will cost the taxpayer big bucks for a few fish, however, the fish belong in the basin and the native people as well as the non-native people have the right to have salmon again. In light of the high cost to restore the salmon, be thankful that we have the science to succeed. "
GPM wrote on Aug 10, 2007 3:21 AM:
" On a daily basis the strain that illegal immigrants place on local communities is far worst than the threat of terrorism. Farmers, for too long, have assumed the supply of illegal workers would be adequate, which contributed to the overproduction of apples and other crops. On this issue the farmer is his own worst enemy. "
gary ellis wrote on Aug 10, 2007 8:56 AM: