Western States Water Council 2005 Report

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The Subcommittee has asked that I address the "Current Situation of Water in the Western United States from the Perspective of the Western States Water Council." This invitation is particularly appropriate, because states play the pivotal role in both water quantity allocation and water quality protection in the West. Further, a recent survey of our member states provides a basis for my remarks. I wish to begin by emphasizing that in the and West, providing adequate water supplies to meet future demands continues to be a priority. This priority is underscored by the current extent of drought in many areas of the West. Streamflows in much of the West are expected to be less than 70% of average, with the entire Columbia River Basin expected to produce the second driest year in recorded history. These drought conditions are a major factor in the current energy crisis. Western states are particularly cognizant of the water needs of rural communities. They also remain concerned about the claims being asserted by Indian tribes to water resources and the potential of such claims to disrupt existing rights in non -Indian communities, underscoring the desirability of cooperative efforts with the tribes and their federal trustee in addressing tribal needs. In this regard, the Council is active with other members of the so- called Ad Hoc Group on Indian Water Rights in encouraging the settlement of Indian land and water right claims, particularly with regard to identifying an alternative mechanism for funding such settlements. A recent letter by the Ad Hoc Group further explaining this effort is attached to my written testimony. The federal government also has claims to substantial amounts of water in the West on its own behalf, given the extent of federal land ownership. These claims are most often presented within the context of state general stream adjudications, where the water rights of all claimants in a given stream system can be ascertained. In this regard, this Congress should address the inequity that now results from exempting the federal government from paying any filing fees or costs associated with these adjudications. I have attached the Council's position which explains our support for a remedy, now before the Congress in the form of H.R. 705. While virtually every western state needs additional supplies to meet growing consumptive use demands, western states also recognize the need for existing water infrastructure rehabilitation. Further, they also recognize as a significant challenge, the need to sustain instream values generally, and specifically for maintaining and enhancing water quality, and for protecting endangered species. The West is often subject to wide swings in water supply. Thus, states identify drought planning and response as a priority problem, and similarly flag flood planning and response. Overlaying many of the above challenges are legal and institutional conflicts facing western states, involving federal /state relationships, conflicts between states, and disputes among water users, among others. To meet these increasing demands, several states are considering additional surface reservoirs, which, for the most part, will be smaller in scale than the large projects of the past, more innovative, environmentally sensitive, and financed primarily from state and local resources. The reallocation of water from existing uses to other uses will likely accelerate, chiefly from agricultural uses to other uses, primarily municipal. While states will often facilitate such transfers to meet specific water supply and environmental challenges, in some cases they may restrain market transfers, not only to protect third parties, but also the public interest in general. 18