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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) ronalee.spellecacy@hdrinc.com
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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

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References

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