Yakima water plan bill introduced in House

A House bill covering part of an ambitious plan to help prevent water shortages in the Yakima Basin has been introduced by Reps. Dan Newhouse and Dave Reichert, both R-Wash.

It’s a companion bill to one introduced last year in the Senate by Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both D-Wash., to advance a decadelong phase of an integrated approach to water management.

The bill passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in November, but has not advanced to the full Senate.

“I’m confident we have support on our side, the House side, to move this initiative forward,” Reichert said.

Adding a House bill makes the legislation stronger and could provide some energy behind the Senate bill, he said.

The Yakima Integrated Water Resources Plan, a 30-year plan, was developed through compromises by those with interests in fish, farming and tribal lands to provide water for all from the over-allocated water of the Yakima Basin. It would cost at least $3.8 billion.

The Kennewick Irrigation District is among its supporters, particularly after efforts were increased in the past six months to ensure water supply and fish habitat for the lower Yakima.

The KID board recently approved a letter to Cantwell, the ranking member of the Senate committee that passed the bill, saying the plan “has been and will continue to be an effective vehicle for water conservation and infrastructure development, benefiting Yakima River basin water users.”

The water supply infrastructure in the Yakima Basin needs to be updated to better serve people and the environment, Newhouse said.

“In the Yakima Basin, agriculture communities have seen and felt the devastating impact of water shortages and drought conditions as water has become increasingly scarce,” Newhouse said.

The plan would improve storage options at the Cle Elum, Kachess and Keechelus storage reservoirs to benefit the Kittitas and Yakima valleys. It builds fish passages at six existing dams, enhances conservation, protects habitat and increases in stream flows, and employs a system of water marketing and banking, Reichert said.

The Senate bill authorizes $77 million in conservation projects associated with the Wapato Irrigation Project, operated by the Yakama Nation and built by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It would pay the federal share of $9 million for half the cost of raising the Cle Elum pool by 3 feet, plus about $6 million for groundwater recharge studies and environmental compliance costs.

The federal investment would be leveraged by investments from the state, which has already appropriated $162 million, and private financing could pay for as much as $350 million of the initial phase.

The House bill has not been assigned to a committee, but Newhouse expects it to land in the Natural Resources Committee, where he is a member.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Yakima water plan bill introduced in House."