the film forum library tutorial contact

Irrigation Cutbacks may keep Walla Walla River Flowing by Mike Lee, Herald staff writer Tri-City Herald, July 2, 2001

Despite drought-diminished supplies, Walla Walla Valley farmers are surrendering increasing amounts of irrigation water this summer to avoid being shut down by the federal government.

An agreement announced last week keeps three irrigation districts watering -- though supplies already are starting to run out for the summer. And it may keep the Walla Walla River from running completely dry as it has regularly for decades.

"We want a cooperative effort that keeps people irrigating, does something for fish and sustains agriculture," said Stuart Durfee, manager of Gardena Farms Irrigation District 13. "Something we don't need here is another Klamath Basin."

This spring, the Bureau of Reclamation shut down the 200,000-acre Klamath Basin irrigation project to protect sucker fish in Klamath Lake.

"The needs of water users and fish do not have to be mutually exclusive, even in a low-water year," said Anne Badgley, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency is forcing changes in the Walla Walla River to protect bull trout, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"We are certainly pleased that in this drought year when everything is just going haywire in a bunch of other places ... here in Walla Walla we have an example where the ESA is working," said Katherine Ransel, senior fellow for American Rivers conservation group.

Last year, irrigators on about 18,000 acres agreed for the first time to leave water in the Walla Walla River to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars of penalties for harming an endangered species.

Until that point, all of the water in the river traditionally was used by irrigators even though withdrawals reduced the river to a strand of rocks near the Washington-Oregon border. The changes substantially reduced the number of bull trout stranded by the receding river.

This year Oregon irrigators agreed to leave 18 cubic feet per second in the river, and Washington irrigators agreed to leave 14 cfs. Next year, the agreement calls for Oregon irrigators to leave at least 25 cfs and Washington irrigators to leave 18 cfs. Also, irrigation districts will monitor the river to make sure bull trout aren't isolated in pools as the river shrinks.

"Less water (diverted) means less irrigation water on the crops," Durfee said. "But we are still irrigating, so it's a positive."

Environmental groups also gave the agreement a qualified blessing, saying they have some reservations to be worked out next year. For instance, they cite a 1973 report by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that recommends at least 50 cfs be left in the river.

When bull trout were given federal protection in 1998, a coalition of environmental groups considered suing Walla Walla irrigators to enforce the law. However, they held off when irrigators promised to make habitat improvements. "Our coalition supports voluntary solutions to endangered species act listings -- solutions that restore sustainable fisheries while promoting vibrant local economies," Ransel said.

It's still not clear how vibrant the valley's farm community will be without its traditional water supply, and Durfee was not prepared to say how much more water irrigators could give. Already, he said, the agreement "is putting some hurt on us."