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<br />.. <br /> <br />, n~083~ <br /> <br />water use efficiency as a state policy and creatinq an oftico of <br />water conservation to dev"lop plana to enhance water Qse efficiency <br />in the state, Washington also recently enacted water use <br />efficiency leqislation. <br /> <br />A!1ricul turd water conllervation is a laUdable goal whiCh <br />shoulcl encourage optimUlll water use, Tllere are, however, Challenges <br />associated with such conservation. For eXlllIIple, any "streamlinill9" <br />of the water right transfer process, must be based upon .the <br />interrelated nature Of all appropriative water riqhts and assure <br />protection for the rights of individuals not a part of transfer <br />proposals, as well as fish, wildlife, and recreational interests, <br />and the economies and envirolUllents Of rural communities, Another <br />challenge is the cost associated with some conservation measures, <br />and users' ability to pay those costs, particularlY' when <br />agriCUltural return flow is considered as a source of water supply, <br />It. further lllyerot complexity concerns potential loss of water that.. <br />seeps into underground aquifers and/or creates surface water <br />artificial wetland areas. . <br /> <br />Where water is scarce, much depends on water resource <br />manaqement. Water policy continually evolves as states reexallline <br />the way they Ilandle the important responsibility' of manaqinq and <br />conservinq water in a ohJ:'oni~al1y water-short region, <br /> <br />'I <br />