FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 14, 2002 02-208
OLYMPIA -- With the first local watershed plans due to be completed next year, the governor and state policy-makers are beginning to look at what it will take to get them implemented.
Gov. Gary Locke, state lawmakers, Department of Ecology officials and others involved in watershed planning will be featured at a conference next Tuesday, Nov. 19, entitled "Washington's Water Future: Implementing Watershed Solutions."
The location will be the Rhodes Center, located at 949 Market St., in Tacoma.
The morning will be devoted to hearing and discussing the recommendations of a committee that spent the summer and fall examining what kind of coordination and oversight will be needed, and how much it will cost, to implement the 33 watershed plans that currently are in the works across the state.
The afternoon will feature a keynote speech by Locke, followed by two panel discussions, all focused on how to pay for implementing the watershed plans and for much-needed improvements to Washington's water-supply and treatment systems.
The conference will begin at 9 a.m. and end at around 4:30 p.m., with a break for lunch. The governor's remarks will begin immediately after the lunch break, at 1:15 p.m.
Washington's watershed planning law was adopted by the legislature in 1998 to encourage cities, counties, water purveyors and tribes to develop water-management plans for major watersheds within their jurisdictions.
There are 62 such watersheds in Washington, with 42 currently involved in watershed planning. (In eight cases, multiple watersheds are being addressed under a single plan.)
Eight plans are expected to complete the four-year planning process by next fall.
"Watershed planning is a great way for local communities to consider their future water needs and make sure they'll have a sufficient supply of clean water," said Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons, who will emcee the conference. "The governor's vision for watershed planning has been very successful, and now we need to take the next important step to make sure the plans don't end up on a shelf."
More information about the conference is available at http://www.wa.gov/water2002/
Media contact: Sheryl Hutchison, 360-407-7004
Note: Reporters are welcome to attend the conference.
Watershed conference Web site: http://www.wa.gov/water2002/
Watershed planning Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/watershed/index.html
Ecology's Web site: www.ecy.wa.gov
Office of Communication and Education Ecology's Home Page:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov
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