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. . . Western States Water Council Water Resources Committee Minutes Boise, Idaho April 21, 2005 WATER CONSERVATION ROUNDTABLE REPORT AND DISCUSSION Sue Lowry briefly discussed a number of action items from the discussions at the Water Conservation Roundtable. A May 5 NRCS listening session has been scheduled and WSWC is interested in water conservation as a national priority for EQIP. We also discussed a possible Protocol and Principles Document we might join with FSA, BOR, EPA, NRCS, Corps, FWS, etc. Also, there is a St. Louis Partnership's conference, and we should seek an invitation. Hal Simpson added the Council should also be actively involved in negotiation on the next Farm Bill, and its conservation provisions. Karl Dreher also added as a footnote that so much of federal action seems to focus on conservation without understanding that one man's waste is another man's water supply. Take the Cache La Poudre in Colorado, where on-farm efficiency is only around 50 %, but basin-wide it is 95 % . We have the same problem in Idaho on the Snake Plain, where greater efficiency has eliminated incidental recharge. It would be good for us to engage the federal agencies in a protocol discussion. Dave Pope agreed, noting Hal asked yesterday, "How do you define conservation?" Sue added that under Tab B are subcommittee assignments for members' review, including the Water Conservation Subcommittee. They will have a conference call in the next month or so. Tom Spofford suggested a letter to the Chief would be sufficient to elicit an invitation to participate in the St. Louis meeting, with a copy to Tom Christensen. SENA TE ENERGY COMMITTEE'S WATER CONFERENCE Pat Tyrrell reported the Council had been invited to speak on two of four panels, for which proposals were solicited for the recent Senate Water Conference. He thanked staff for their assistance with his testimony. He joked, "It takes longer to read the newsletter report, than the two minutes we were given to make our presentations." He referred to Tab I, and his bullets and Craig's, summarizing the testimony. He mentioned a few items, and specifically the use of the Reclamation Fund, which has grown to about $6 billion (which was originally intended for water needs in the West). Also, he emphasized the need for the federal government to respect state water rights. Anyone of the panels could have taken all afternoon. There were very few questions. Pat mentioned the other panelists, and some of the questions, including Senator Murkowski's call for a national strategic water reserve. There were mixed reviews on a question regarding the need for another national water policy commission. "I had in the back of my mind the western water review commission." There was a pretty good discussion of the future of desalination, and producing water from brackish sources. Domenici suggested the U.S. Department of Energy take the lead in research, but most felt Interior was a better place - USGS. "I'm not sure where the panel discussion is headed." 5