A year after the Seattle Times dropped a bomb on Washington
A year after the Seattle Times dropped a bomb on Washington
Kristina Ribellia
Founder of Western Water Market
November 6, 2020
It’s been a year since Evan Bush's Seattle Timese articles, “Wall Street spends millions to buy up Washington state water” and “Wall Street seeks a valuable resource from Washington state’s aging farmers: their water” shook the state.
Bush's investigative journalism resulted in rather balanced articles, but the headlines were certainly less palatable and led to a flurry of legislative activity earlier this year.
Thankfully, our Legislators hit pause and asked the Washington State Department of Ecology to convene an advisory group on water trust, banking, and transfers that convened over six meetings this summer. These online public meetings were surprisingly engaging and insightful -- and informed a document recently released by Ecology including their findings and recommendations that can be found here. I largely agreed with Ecology’s findings and recommendations, as conveyed in my official response on the document.
The Seattle Times articles forced us to take a hard look at outside investors, out-of-basin transfers, use of state programs, and transparency in the market.
Here are a few of my personal takeaways:
Downstream, out-of-basin transfers can be important instream flow restoration tools. Whether it's a private investor or instream flow buyer, the benefits (and impacts) are the same. Let's not adopt regulations that limit our ability to do good for the environment;
Downstream transfers and potential local impacts don’t have to be permanent. According to some, Ecology has the current authority to allow water rights to be moved back to their original point of diversion, though Ecology is recommending to seek additional authority from the Legislature. Whatever it takes, it's a positive step.
The private sector can and does provide important services and solutions to water supply challenges;
Competition is good;
We can and should do more to improve the public notification and engagement process for change applications and water banks. Thankfully, Ecology agrees and is taking action; and lastly
Incentive-based initiatives that retain flexibility and honor private property rights are largely better than rigid regulations, such as prohibiting the ability to transfer water out of a basin.
Last month’s 13th Annual Washington Water Code Seminar — where I had the great honor of presenting alongside Carrie Sessions with the Department of Ecology, Okanogan County Commissioner Andy Hover, and Mark Peterson of Peterson & Marquis Law Office — I think really showcased what we have learned and how far we have come over the last year.
I was especially proud to offer Western Water Market as an approach to help keep water local and flowing to where it's needed most — through voluntary, incentive-based initiatives.
As I reflect on this last year, I tip a hat to our Legislators and the Department of Ecology for their swift and thoughtful response to addressing these sensitive and complex issues. I'm encouraged and inspired by their leadership and feel confident that we will do better for our water resources and communities because of it.
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