PORT ANGELES — It addresses Clallam County’s water conflicts between people and fish, a growing issue in an area with a growing population.
County leaders, planners and interested residents maintain the Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan will allow for better management of water resources, possibly loosening the state’s tight-fisted hold on granting water rights for new development.
The plan covers the watersheds between the Elwha River and Sequim Bay.
“Obviously, water is very important in the web of life,” says county Commissioner Steve Tharinger, adding that the watershed plan for the county’s most heavily populated areas will serve as a blueprint for the next 20 years.
Tharinger, D-Dungeness, the commissioners’ chairman, along with several other government and tribal planners, leaders and interested residents, has been involved with the Dungeness River Management Team for more than three years of study and discussion.
