The state Department of Ecology has awarded grants of $810,000 for stream flow improvements and $634,000 for watershed projects in the North Olympic Peninsula.
The 2009 Legislature provided $11 million to improve water availability, water quality and fisheries habitat statewide.
Stream flow improvement grants in Clallam and Jefferson counties are:
• $450,000 to the Clallam Conservation District to replace 8,250 feet of open irrigation ditch with pipeline, part of a multi-phase project that ultimately will place pipe into the entire Dungeness Irrigation District.
• $265,000 to Clallam County to continue work with Jamestown S’Klallam tribal water users and Washington Water Trust to secure sources of water for the launch of a Dungeness water exchange.
• $95,000 to the Jefferson County Public Utility District for a water storage feasibility study of Peterson Lake.
Grants to watersheds are:
• Elwha-Dungeness watershed, Water Resource Inventory Area 18 — $100,000 toward putting a water management rule in place for the Dungeness River basin and $180,000 for plan implementation.
• Quilcene-Snow watershed, WRIA 17 — $98,000 to evaluate the effects of future groundwater withdrawals in Chimacum Creek and $155,000 for plan implementation.
• Sol Duc-Hoh watershed, WRIA 20 — $41,000 to finish writing an implementation plan.
Supply and demand
• Elwha-Dungeness and Quilcene-Snow, in conjunction with the Wind-White Salmon watershed in the Columbia Gorge — $60,000 for continued stream gauging to manage water supply and demand.
The $4 million granted statewide to stream flow projects will benefit mostly river basins which provide habitat for endangered or threatened salmon. In addition to Clallam and Jefferson counties, grants also were made to Chelan, Island, Walla Walla and Whatcom counties.
34 watersheds
Statewide, 29 planning groups covering 34 distinct watersheds are receiving basic support grants. Many watershed entities are also getting money to pay for special projects.
In the past two years, Ecology provided $8.6 million for 32 stream-flow improvement projects and $11.2 million to 33 local watershed planning groups, for a total of $19.8 million.
For more information, see www.ecy.wa.gov/ watershed.
