Columbia Cascades Water Rights Acquisition Program

Columbia Cascades Water Rights Acquisition Program

Inadequate Flows—Critical Factor Limiting Salmon Recovery

Fish Need Water in Adequate Amounts and at the Right Time

• Increasing Tributaries Flows is Priority Objective--2000 BiOp & RPA 150

• Improving flows is an “immediate habitat priority”

• Three subbasins are “High Priority Basins”—All H Paper

• Getting Water Back into Streams is the Most Immediate Need

Water Rights Acquisition

• Working with Prior Appropriation doctrine• Benefits are immediate• Only effective option for restoring flows• Significant legal and procedural tools in place • Great opportunity for partnerships

• Five major steps

Finding Willing Sellers

• Most challenging task• Relatively few sellers• Potential sellers uninformed or uncertain about

water markets• Must overcome mistrust of instream• flow transfers• Must have active community presence

Where and When Water is Needed

• Identify critical areas and streams--target tributaries with listed species

• Prioritize streams with potential for significant improvement

• Identify opportunities for acquisition within those areas

Example of Potential Water Rights Acquisition Areas

Need to know what we are buying

Substantial and complex technical, legal and economic issues

• Determine transferability• Evaluate amount of water for transfer• Address issues of protection of other

water rights and public interest• Physically make water available for

use where and when needed • Ensure water can be kept in stream

Biggest Bang for the Buck

• Determine fair market value—appraisal and drawing on experience of others, e.g., USBR

• Negotiate price and finalize contractual agreement

• Transfer acquired right to the “Trust Water Right Program”—with original seniority date

Ensuring success

• Monitor and Evaluate—• Flows and volume of water put back into

streams• Benefit to targeted species• Public acceptance

• Compliance and Enforcement• Metering and gaging• Water Master

It is a Partnership

• Program is underway

• Cost sharing—50/50

• Long term commitment