SEQUIM — The state Department of Ecology plans two open houses next week about proposed changes in water management in the Dungeness River watershed.
Ecology is hosting the open houses to discuss water supply issues in the watershed before the department releases a proposed water management rule for public comment in March.
The open houses will be Tuesday and Wednesday.
At Guy Cole Center
Both will be at the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., in Sequim.
The schedules are:
■ Tuesday open house — 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; information stations open from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., when a presentation on the proposed water management rule will begin and be followed by a question-and-answer session.
■ Wednesday open house — Noon to 3:30 p.m.; information stations open from noon to 1:30 p.m., when a presentation on the proposed rule will begin and be followed by a question-and-answer session.
According to Ecology, the proposed rule is intended to:
■ Protect existing water users from impairment of their water rights by future users.
■ Protect in-stream resources from adverse impacts from new surface water or groundwater withdrawals.
■ Establish a framework for future water management decisions that will ensure adequate water supplies for homes, farms and fish.
What it won’t affect
The proposed water management rule will not affect existing water use and public water service areas and will not take water away from people already using it, Ecology said in a statement.
Ecology has been working with the Local Leaders Water Management Group since February 2011 seeking ways to improve water supply and restore stream flows in the Dungeness watershed.
Members of the LLWG are Clallam County, Clallam Conservation District, Clallam County PUD, Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, Sequim-Dungeness Water Users Association, the city of Sequim and Ecology.
The Washington Water Trust has been consulting with the group on the establishment of a water exchange.
Supply can vary
Water supplies vary greatly through the year in the Dungeness watershed.
The Olympic Mountains catch the rain and snow coming from the west, and this “rain shadow effect” blocks most of the precipitation from making it all the way to the Dungeness Basin.
Melting snow from the mountains is the main water source for streams and rivers in spring and early summer, but by late summer, the Dungeness River and streams in the watershed are fed almost entirely by groundwater.
During late summer and early fall, water demand is high for irrigation and lawn watering, but spawning fish also need water in the streams.
Four fish species in the Dungeness are threatened because of insufficient stream flows and other factors degrading their habitat, Ecology said.
Help public understand
“We are hosting these open houses to help the public understand the water management challenges in the Dungeness,” said Maia Bellon, manager of the Water Resources Program at Ecology.
“The success of any effort to provide better protection of water supplies for current and future users is going to depend on local understanding, support and cooperation.”
The open houses will provide a convenient time for the public to talk in-depth on water supply issues with Ecology’s water managers and fish biologists.
Those attending the public sessions will also be provided with background material on water resource management in the Dungeness.
