Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T08:10:08.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RESEARCH ARTICLE: Water Resource Planning for the Agricultural Community in Washington State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2009

Rona Spellecacy
Rona Spellecacy*
Affiliation:
HDR Engineering, Inc., Seattle, Washington
*
Address correspondence to: Rona Spellecacy, 601 Union Street, Suite 700, Seattle, WA 98101-2341; (phone) 206-826-4728; (fax) 206-826-4701; (email) [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

In Washington State, the agricultural community faces many environmental and regulatory challenges, including water availability for irrigation; water quality and Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance; and Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance, particularly with regard to federally listed salmon. In 2001, the Washington State Department of Agriculture initiated the State's Agriculture, Fish, and Water (AFW) process to bring regulatory agencies, tribes, and environmental stakeholders to the table in an effort to address these issues. The result was the development of the Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plan (CIDMP) process, which provides a voluntary, locally driven, incentive-based process by which the agricultural community can improve their operations and water management techniques in response to CWA and ESA concerns. The CIDMP process was modeled after the state's Watershed Management Plans; both processes reflect an innovative approach to collaborative resource management that is unique to Washington. The goal of the CIDMP is to allow the agricultural community the flexibility to address ESA and CWA while preserving the key processes and functions that are necessary to sustain commercial agriculture in a rapidly urbanizing landscape. To date, several CIDMPs have been developed around Washington State. These pilot CIDMPs have progressed to various stages of completion and degrees of success. This article will showcase the Skagit River Basin CIDMP, a project located in Skagit County, Washington, that began in 2005 and is ongoing. The article provides an overview of the CIDMP process and the key issues it addresses, status of implementation, and lessons learned.

Environmental Practice 11:95–104 (2009)

Type
FEATURES
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 95 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[Ecology] Washington Department of Ecology. 2007. 2007 Report to the Legislature: Progress on Watershed Planning and Setting Instream Flows. Publication no. 08-06-002. Washington Department of Ecology, Olympia, 67 pp. Available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0806002.pdf.Google Scholar
[HDR] HDR Engineering, Inc. 2006. Skagit Basin Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plan. Prepared for the Western Washington Agricultural Association. HDR, 183 pp., Seattla, WA. Contact the corresponding author to obtain this report.Google Scholar
[HDR] HDR Engineering, Inc. 2007a. Conceptual Design Proposal: Skagit Delta Drainage District Pumps Initiative. Prepared for the Western Washington Agricultural Association. HDR, 33 pp., Seattle, WA. Contact the corresponding author to obtain this report.Google Scholar
[HDR] HDR Engineering, Inc. 2007b. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II Stormwater Management Plan Template. Prepared for the Western Washington Agricultural Association. HDR, 225 pp., Seattle, WA. Contact the corresponding author to obtain this report.Google Scholar
[HDR] HDR Engineering, Inc. 2008a. Creating Strategies to Preserve the Environment and the Agricultural Community: Changing the Paradigm in the Skagit Delta. Prepared for the Western Washington Agricultural Association. HDR, 4 pp., Seattle, WA. Contact the corresponding author to obtain this report.Google Scholar
[HDR] HDR Engineering, Inc. 2008b. Prospectus for the Skagit Delta Agricultural Water Management Pilot. Unpublished draft prepared for the Western Washington Agricultural Association. HDR, 64 pp., Seattle, WA. Contact the corresponding author to obtain this report.Google Scholar
[NASS] National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2004. 2002 Census of Agriculture: Quick Stats. NASS, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
[NRI] National Resources Inventory. 2000. Urban Development in Washington State 1982–1997. NRI, 1 p., Washington, DC.Google Scholar
[OFM] State of Washington Office of Financial Management. 2001. Assessment of Watershed Planning: Progress, State Agency Participation, and Instream Flow Setting. Report to the Governor and Legislature. OFM, Olympia, 36 pp + appendices. Available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/watershed/pdf/2001_assess_wsp.pdf.Google Scholar
Schwarzen, C. 2006. Preservation with a Profit. Seattle Times, November 1, 2006.Google Scholar
[USDA] United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. 2008. Washington State Fact Sheet. USDA, Washington, DC. Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/ (accessed January 11, 2008).Google Scholar
[WDFW] Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2005. Skagit Drainage and Fish Initiative: Drainage Maintenance Plan. Multiple plans for Skagit County drainage districts, Mount Vernon, WA. WDFW, Olympia.Google Scholar
[WSCC] Washington State Conservation Commission. 2001. Guidelines for Preparation of Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plans. WSCC, 205 pp., Olympia. Available at http://afw.scc.wa.gov/files/CIDMP_Final.pdf.Google Scholar
[WWAA] Western Washington Agricultural Association. 2005. Evaluation Report: Guidelines for Preparation of Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plans and Pilot Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plans. Unpublished reports prepared for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. WWAA, Mount Vernon.Google Scholar
[WWAA et al.] Western Washington Agricultural Association, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Washington Department of Wildlife. 2007. Skagit Delta Tidegates and Fish Initiative Implementation Agreement. Unpublished working draft. WWAA et al., Mount Vernon.Google Scholar