With low snow-pack throughout the state and anticipated water shortages this summer, it is appropriate that this month begins the Oregon's Water Resources Commission review of the state's century-old approach to water policy.
For more than 100 years, the state's role in water management has been to allocate water from rivers and streams for private and municipal use. The allocation system, called "prior appropriation," made water rights available on a first-come, first-served basis as an incentive for settlement of the West. When a water right was fully developed, it became a private property right under the law. Oregon's Water Code, adopted at the turn of the last century, reflected a system that worked well for its intended purpose.
But today, with much of the state's water already fully allocated, our needs are different. And we will need new tools to ensure adequate supplies for the future. We now know that many of the state's serious water problems -- reflected by enforcement actions under the federal Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act -- are the result of a system that failed to set aside water, up front, for public purposes. Today, we are playing catch-up with our water -- desperately trying to juggle the need to restore stream flows with the need and responsibility to protect lawful rights to use water.
That challenge is made even more difficult by policies and administrative processes that were developed to serve the past -- not the present or future. Current programs continue to be focused on the state's historic role in allocating water for new use. That role will necessarily diminish as the state's supply of surface water becomes fully appropriated. At the same time, the Water Resources Department is facing growing workload backlogs that severely limit their ability to respond to and facilitate new water management concepts. And these problems will only worsen as the state's budget crisis continues.
Given these realities, it is time for an innovative look at state water policy. The Water Resources Commission should be commended in taking on the job. Solutions for future water supply must recognize state limitations, and provide real incentives to bring water users voluntarily to the table to use water differently, and manage it more effectively. State programs should focus on:
- Incentives for voluntary changes in water use;
- Conservation; and
- Development of new storage.
Incentives for Change
State policies should encourage local problem solving and water management strategies. Water users should have maximum flexibility to implement changes in water use that will promote stream flow restoration while continuing to meet economic needs.
Conservation
The state should offer practical incentives, especially to irrigators who make up 90 percent of the state's water users. State programs should be revamped to cut the red tape currently attached to conservation efforts, and to provide clear policy guidance on how conservation proposals will be evaluated and approved.
Opportunities for New Storage Projects
State policies should clearly support development of new storage projects that minimize environmental impacts, and have the potential to make water available for both instream flow and new economic uses. New storage technology such as underground aquifer storage offers great promise for avoiding adverse environmental impacts.
As we enter a new century of water use in Oregon, clearly, the state's role should change. Because of our commitments through past allocation decisions, successful policies for the future will recognize that the state's job is not to manage water, but to make it easier for water to be managed effectively.
As published in Cascade Business News on December 3, 2003.