Watershed Management Plan - Mason County

Key Issues and Options – Water Quantity
Appendix
B
Use of the Trust Water Rights Program could also serve as basis for
developing a water bank for both instream and out-of-stream uses. A water
bank would provide the opportunity for formalized exchange of water
rights in a particular area, such as WRIA 16. Water banking, which was
authorized by the Washington State Legislature in 2003 (ESHB 1640),
would enable market transfer of all or a portion of a water right to a new
buyer or user.
Water right trust and banking programs could be enacted in WRIA 16 to
facilitate the preservation of stream flows and transfer of water rights
within the watershed. Accordingly, the Planning Unit could either promote
the use of the existing water right trust opportunities or could recommend
that a more formal water banking system be established.
Option 16.
Identify and acquire areas needed to preserve
and protect current and future water supplies and
habitat
Federal, state, local, and tribal governments and private organizations can
acquire land for protection of water supplies and fish and wildlife habitat.
Much of the water that exists in streams or groundwater in WRIA 16
originates in the Olympic Mountains, and so preserving this region will help
maintain the water flows and quantities currently enjoyed in WRIA 16.
Fortunately, much of this area is already preserved as national park or
forest, but acquiring additional areas may help provide further stability to
WRIA 16’s water resources. For example, Jefferson County recently
acquired about 75 acres of riparian and floodplain habitat just west of
Brinnon, a project funded mostly by state funds administered by the
Salmon Recovery Funding Board (IAC, 2005). Please see further
discussion of this option under options X-X and Y-Y under the water
quality and habitat sections, respectively.
Option 17. Develop a Sustainable Forestry Plan for WRIA 16
Sub-basins
Forestry practices – including the degree, method, and timing of timber
harvests – can have dramatic impacts on the health of streams. Excessive
timber harvest can release sediment to streams, remove stream shading
(thereby increasing temperatures), and alter the hydrologic characteristics of
a sub-basin such that high peak flows (even flooding) are more common.
Significant efforts to promote and implement lower-impact forestry
practices have been undertaken by the U.S. Forest Service and private
companies on the Olympic Peninsula (Ron Gold, RG Forestry Consultants,
personal communication March 28, 2005). For example, the Green
Diamond Resource Company (formerly Simpson Resource Company) is a
supporter of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification; practices
active forest replanting and regeneration; and has produced a habitat
conservation plan for its practices (Green Diamond Resource Company,
Final Plan for County Adoption – May 11, 2006 page 103