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Instream flow rule public process for
the Dungeness Basin
the Dungeness Basin
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#5: Who is planning for our water?
Your participation is encouraged
Published May 7, 2008
By Sam Gibboney
Water Resources Consultant
ISE Consultants
It reads a bit like a riddle: If water is already in limited supply and demands are
increasing, how do we ensure there’s enough water in the future for people, farms and
fish? That is the tough question your neighbors and other Dungeness watershed
residents are tackling—and you are encouraged to join the discussion!
You live in a watershed with a significant history of watershed planning. Building on the
efforts of many talented people over many decades, the locally-led Elwha-Dungeness
Planning Unit developed a Watershed Plan that was unanimously adopted by the Clallam
County Board of Commissioners in 2005.
Based on recommendations in this plan, discussions are now underway on a variety of
water management strategies for the Dungeness Basin—one of which is an instream flow
and water management rule. The plan anticipated the Department of Ecology’s mandate
to adopt rules for each watershed in the state that protect fish and other “instream
resources” as well as existing water rights, and it recommended flow levels for local rivers
and streams (called “instream flows”) that, once adopted by the rule, will guide future
water right decisions.
Two advisory groups have been formed to help develop the rule: the Dungeness Water
Executive Committee and the Dungeness Water Working Group. The Executive Committee
is evaluating options for water supply and helping draft rule language, and is made up of
key decision-makers in local, state and tribal governments. They include Clallam County
Commissioner Steve Tharinger, Clallam County Environmental Health Director Andy
Brastad, Clallam County senior planner Carol Creasey and planning commissioner Gary
Gleason, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Director Scott Chitwood, Clallam
County PUD commissioners Hugh Haffner and Will Purser and PUD Manager Doug Nass,
as well as Gary Smith, a board member of the Water Users Association.
The Department of Ecology’s Program Manager for Water Resources, Ken Slattery, and
rule writer Sarah Ferguson sit on the Executive Committee, as does Cynthia Nelson,
Ecology’s watershed lead for the Elwha-Dungeness.
The Working Group’s membership overlaps somewhat with that of the Executive
Committee, but includes representatives of irrigation districts and companies; well-drilling,
real estate and development interests; the Clallam Conservation District; and other
stakeholders. This group also provides input on water supply issues and rule content, but
in particular focuses on public outreach as an informed and engaged public is essential to
the success of the rule. Citizen members of the Working Group include Keith Winter of
Oasis Well Drilling, builder Mike Lykman of Estes Homes, Realtor Marguerite Glover, and
Tyler Ahlgren of the nonprofit group Protect the Peninsula’s Future. They meet the fourth
Friday of every month from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Dungeness River Audubon Center,
and anyone is welcome to attend.
A third group has worked for years to develop and implement locally-based, long-term
solutions to watershed management issues. This is the Dungeness River Management
Team. Members represent the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the City of Sequim, Clallam
County, the Water Users Association, the North Olympic Land Trust, the Dungeness
Beach Association, riverside property owners, sport fishermen, the state departments of
Fish & Wildlife and Ecology, and the Puget Sound Partnership. Advisory members include
the Clallam Conservation District and federal agencies. The Team drafted the Dungeness
portion of the Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan and is working on implementing many of
the plan’s recommendations. Anyone is welcome to attend Team meetings, which are
held the second Wednesday of each month at the Dungeness River Audubon Center from
2-5 p.m.
Your health and well-being, and that of your family, friends and neighbors, is intertwined
with the health of your watershed. Adequate water supply is everyone’s issue. Attend a
public forum or a Working Group meeting and join your watershed neighbors in tackling
the tough questions and making sure there’s enough water now—and into the future—
for people, farms and fish.
Your participation is encouraged
Published May 7, 2008
By Sam Gibboney
Water Resources Consultant
ISE Consultants
It reads a bit like a riddle: If water is already in limited supply and demands are
increasing, how do we ensure there’s enough water in the future for people, farms and
fish? That is the tough question your neighbors and other Dungeness watershed
residents are tackling—and you are encouraged to join the discussion!
You live in a watershed with a significant history of watershed planning. Building on the
efforts of many talented people over many decades, the locally-led Elwha-Dungeness
Planning Unit developed a Watershed Plan that was unanimously adopted by the Clallam
County Board of Commissioners in 2005.
Based on recommendations in this plan, discussions are now underway on a variety of
water management strategies for the Dungeness Basin—one of which is an instream flow
and water management rule. The plan anticipated the Department of Ecology’s mandate
to adopt rules for each watershed in the state that protect fish and other “instream
resources” as well as existing water rights, and it recommended flow levels for local rivers
and streams (called “instream flows”) that, once adopted by the rule, will guide future
water right decisions.
Two advisory groups have been formed to help develop the rule: the Dungeness Water
Executive Committee and the Dungeness Water Working Group. The Executive Committee
is evaluating options for water supply and helping draft rule language, and is made up of
key decision-makers in local, state and tribal governments. They include Clallam County
Commissioner Steve Tharinger, Clallam County Environmental Health Director Andy
Brastad, Clallam County senior planner Carol Creasey and planning commissioner Gary
Gleason, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Director Scott Chitwood, Clallam
County PUD commissioners Hugh Haffner and Will Purser and PUD Manager Doug Nass,
as well as Gary Smith, a board member of the Water Users Association.
The Department of Ecology’s Program Manager for Water Resources, Ken Slattery, and
rule writer Sarah Ferguson sit on the Executive Committee, as does Cynthia Nelson,
Ecology’s watershed lead for the Elwha-Dungeness.
The Working Group’s membership overlaps somewhat with that of the Executive
Committee, but includes representatives of irrigation districts and companies; well-drilling,
real estate and development interests; the Clallam Conservation District; and other
stakeholders. This group also provides input on water supply issues and rule content, but
in particular focuses on public outreach as an informed and engaged public is essential to
the success of the rule. Citizen members of the Working Group include Keith Winter of
Oasis Well Drilling, builder Mike Lykman of Estes Homes, Realtor Marguerite Glover, and
Tyler Ahlgren of the nonprofit group Protect the Peninsula’s Future. They meet the fourth
Friday of every month from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Dungeness River Audubon Center,
and anyone is welcome to attend.
A third group has worked for years to develop and implement locally-based, long-term
solutions to watershed management issues. This is the Dungeness River Management
Team. Members represent the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the City of Sequim, Clallam
County, the Water Users Association, the North Olympic Land Trust, the Dungeness
Beach Association, riverside property owners, sport fishermen, the state departments of
Fish & Wildlife and Ecology, and the Puget Sound Partnership. Advisory members include
the Clallam Conservation District and federal agencies. The Team drafted the Dungeness
portion of the Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan and is working on implementing many of
the plan’s recommendations. Anyone is welcome to attend Team meetings, which are
held the second Wednesday of each month at the Dungeness River Audubon Center from
2-5 p.m.
Your health and well-being, and that of your family, friends and neighbors, is intertwined
with the health of your watershed. Adequate water supply is everyone’s issue. Attend a
public forum or a Working Group meeting and join your watershed neighbors in tackling
the tough questions and making sure there’s enough water now—and into the future—
for people, farms and fish.
#4: Protecting the water fish need
Setting stream flow levels is a tool for healthy streams
By: Sam Gibboney, Water Resources Consultant
Principal/Owner, ISE Consultants
In the midst of this balancing act, people and farmers can adjust when and how much
water they use, but fish cannot. Fish depend on having an adequate amount of water in
the stream at the times they need it, or their very survival is threatened.
Under state law, the Department of Ecology must adopt rules to protect and preserve
sufficient water in streams for “instream resources” such as fish, wildlife, recreational
uses, water quality and livestock watering. Discussions of stream flow levels often focus
on the needs of fish whose populations are struggling to survive. Fish are an “indicator
species”: if flow levels are adequate to support healthy fish populations, then flows are
most likely adequate for other instream resources.
And right now, our fish are not doing so well. Four species that depend on the habitat of
the Dungeness River have been listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered
Species Act: Chinook, Steelhead, Summer Chum and Bull Trout. A number of other
Dungeness species are listed as “critical” by the state.
Many factors have contributed to the alarming decline in fish numbers. One of the most
significant is the reduction of stream flows due to irrigation and other water withdrawals,
including ground water withdrawals from wells.
So how much water do fish need? That depends on the type of fish, its life stage and the
time of year. For example, adult Chinook salmon spawn in late August and early
September as flows are low and dropping. They need sufficient water to make it over
gravel bars and to cover their eggs. Steelhead return to spawn in the winter and spring
when flows are higher. In general, higher flows allow fish to spawn higher in the
watershed, which can improve survival rates of their young.
To address the needs of the many different species that depend on adequate stream
flows, water managers try to ensure there is sufficient water in the stream at different
times of year. Some years of higher flows are necessary to support healthy fish runs, so
stream flows set by rule (referred to as “instream flows”) reflect these higher numbers
as well as establishing month-by-month numbers.
Setting instream flows through an “instream flow and water management rule” does not
mean that the flow levels will be present every month or year, but that they will be
protected when they do occur. The rule is a tool for making future water management
decisions that take into account the protection of instream resources and existing water
rights.
It all boils down to this: the Department of Ecology cannot make water available for new
residential and agricultural uses at the expense of stream health.
The locally-led Elwha-Dungeness Planning Unit developed recommendations for instream
flow levels in its 2005 Watershed Plan. A lot of investigation, science (including historical
flow records and habitat usage data) and deliberation went into determining the amount
of water needed for fish in the Dungeness Basin.
We can’t control how much water fish need to survive. But we can control how much
water we use and when. Through this rule-making process, Dungeness residents have
the opportunity to understand the big picture of their water use and consider how best
to manage water for the long-term sustainability of people, farms and fish.
Setting stream flow levels is a tool for healthy streams
By: Sam Gibboney, Water Resources Consultant
Principal/Owner, ISE Consultants
In the midst of this balancing act, people and farmers can adjust when and how much
water they use, but fish cannot. Fish depend on having an adequate amount of water in
the stream at the times they need it, or their very survival is threatened.
Under state law, the Department of Ecology must adopt rules to protect and preserve
sufficient water in streams for “instream resources” such as fish, wildlife, recreational
uses, water quality and livestock watering. Discussions of stream flow levels often focus
on the needs of fish whose populations are struggling to survive. Fish are an “indicator
species”: if flow levels are adequate to support healthy fish populations, then flows are
most likely adequate for other instream resources.
And right now, our fish are not doing so well. Four species that depend on the habitat of
the Dungeness River have been listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered
Species Act: Chinook, Steelhead, Summer Chum and Bull Trout. A number of other
Dungeness species are listed as “critical” by the state.
Many factors have contributed to the alarming decline in fish numbers. One of the most
significant is the reduction of stream flows due to irrigation and other water withdrawals,
including ground water withdrawals from wells.
So how much water do fish need? That depends on the type of fish, its life stage and the
time of year. For example, adult Chinook salmon spawn in late August and early
September as flows are low and dropping. They need sufficient water to make it over
gravel bars and to cover their eggs. Steelhead return to spawn in the winter and spring
when flows are higher. In general, higher flows allow fish to spawn higher in the
watershed, which can improve survival rates of their young.
To address the needs of the many different species that depend on adequate stream
flows, water managers try to ensure there is sufficient water in the stream at different
times of year. Some years of higher flows are necessary to support healthy fish runs, so
stream flows set by rule (referred to as “instream flows”) reflect these higher numbers
as well as establishing month-by-month numbers.
Setting instream flows through an “instream flow and water management rule” does not
mean that the flow levels will be present every month or year, but that they will be
protected when they do occur. The rule is a tool for making future water management
decisions that take into account the protection of instream resources and existing water
rights.
It all boils down to this: the Department of Ecology cannot make water available for new
residential and agricultural uses at the expense of stream health.
The locally-led Elwha-Dungeness Planning Unit developed recommendations for instream
flow levels in its 2005 Watershed Plan. A lot of investigation, science (including historical
flow records and habitat usage data) and deliberation went into determining the amount
of water needed for fish in the Dungeness Basin.
We can’t control how much water fish need to survive. But we can control how much
water we use and when. Through this rule-making process, Dungeness residents have
the opportunity to understand the big picture of their water use and consider how best
to manage water for the long-term sustainability of people, farms and fish.
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