Western States Water Council 2001 Report

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Wednesday afternoon and evening, and the regular meetings of the Council during the day on Thursday. The workshop began with a panel on the state role in water data collection and management. This was followed by a federal panel and discussions. Attendees then considered possible recommendations, which focused on strengthening the USGS cooperative streamgaging program. These recommendations were subsequently considered by the members of the Water Resources Committee the following morning. The workshop was followed by a field trip to the Puyallup River Watershed, where participants had a chance to visit the Federation Forest, one of the last old growth tree groves in the area. The group stopped at the Mud Mountain dam, built to protect downstream interests from floods, and then at Lake Tapps, a complex project to supply water while protecting the lake and associated instream values. A last stop took place at one of Seattle's waterfront parks, where a Northwest bar -b -que was enjoyed. The Water Resources Committee began the following morning by considering several proposed policy positions. The first endorsed passage of S. 895, the "Rural Water Supply Act of 2005." The letter noted the Council's strong support for federal legislation to provide technical and financial assistance for small rural communities, and expressed the Council's belief that Title II of the bill, authorizing a new loan guarantee for certain projects, represented an important and much needed tool. The Committee approved the letter for Council consideration. The Committee also approved a resolution endorsing S. 517, the Weather Modification Technology Transfer Act of 2005, a letter supporting passage of legislation to reauthorize appropriations for the state water resources research institutes program. Action was pending on the Senate floor. Further, a resolution asking for full utilization of the funds provided through the Reclamation Act for its intended purpose in the continuing conservation, development and wise use of western resources to meet western water - related needs was approved by the Committee. The Committee also approved a letter to Secretary of Interior, Gale Norton, urging her to request $74M in FY 2007 for the USGS Cooperative Water Program. The letter stated: "this amount would merely restore the program's real purchasing power to its FY 2003 level and reverse the slow erosion in spending that is robbing us of streamgages and data that is vital...." In a related matter, the Committee endorsed for Council consideration a letter to the Senate and House Conferees considering the Interior spending bill, which includes House report language that "strongly discourages" the USGS from providing commercially available services in competition with the private sector. While endorsing current USGS policy to avoid competition with the private sector, the letter took issue with the House report language and the serious negative implications it could have on the Cooperative Water Program and providing critical water data. Prior to these actions, the Committee heard from Bob Hirsch on the status of the USGS Cooperative Water Program and later from Philip Mote of the University of Washington on climate impacts, snowpack and snowmelt in the Northwest. The Committee then heard status reports on the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act, the Bridging- the - Headgate Partnership, the work of the water resources management and funding subcommittee, the study being undertaken by the National Academy of Sciences on the Colorado River, and the upcoming Water Information Management Systems workshop. The Water Quality Committee met next for a joint session with members of the Water Resources Committee for a discussion on water reuse and its implications for water quality and water rights. Following a presentation on related state programs in Washington and Arizona, Walt Baker, head of the Utah Division of Water Quality, described the potential implications from his 20