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House approves Walla Walla
water program
A
Walla Walla water pilot program took another step towards reality on
Thursday, receiving unanimous approval from the House. The proposal is
the product of several differing parties coming together to find a water
management system that will work for farms, fish, and especially people.
The late-Rep.
Bill Grant was instrumental in the bills creation and would have been
its sponsor this legislative session. Two other Walla Walla legislators
are picking up the torch, though:
Rep. Maureen Walsh,
R-Walla Walla, a co-sponsor of the legislation, and Rep.
Rep. Laura Grant-Herriot, D-Walla Walla, Grant’s
daughter.
"Our community
prides itself in working collaboratively on different issues,” Walsh
said. “This program provides a way for our community to administer water
efficiently and work together toward a common goal: stewardship of our
resources. The proposal adopted by the House last night moves that
partnership forward to do more to protect water resources."
“Too often water
has been something to fight over,” Grant-Herriot said. “This project
shows us that water is something we can come together on.”
The Walla Walla
pilot program would allow the community to manage the Walla Walla River
and watershed in a way that works for all parties, by allowing the
creation of a water management partnership.
House Bill 1580 would allow the partnership to create a water bank,
and authorize voluntary, cooperative agreements that would enhance water
flows in combination with more flexibility in water use.
“This bill brings
together tribes, irrigators, the Department of Ecology, and urban water
users, to name a few,” Grant-Herriot said. “It creates a model that
people across the nation will be watching.”
"We call this
'flow from flexibility' - because it gives our community opportunities
to control the flow of water to users and to rivers,” Walsh said. “I am
proud to be able to support this legislation - it is a tremendous
tribute to a great man."
The bill now goes
to the Senate for further consideration.
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For more information, contact:
Sarah Lamb, Public Information
Officer - (360) 786-7720
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