The National Water Rights Digest

June 2004 � Vol. X, No. 6 � ISSN 1068-8994

� A Ridenbaugh Press publication covering water rights policy, adjudication, sales and transfers nationwide.

� www.ridenbaugh.com/nwrd/

An historic agreement between the NezPerce, the State of Idaho and water

users in the Snake River Basin Adjudication; Florida declares water emergencies; and Klamath water users respond to NOAA.

These and many other topics inside.

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Litigation

ID: Nez Perce Mediation Unveiled Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, Idaho Governor Dirk

Kempthorne and Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Anthony Johnson announced May 15 an agreement to settle the Nez Perce water rights claims in the Snake River Basin.

Nez Perce Tribal Council Chairman Anthony Johnson commended the hard work of the mediating parties. “We are pleased at the progress that has been made in resolving these difficult issues. The process can now move forward to closure with new momentum, for the benefit of all concerned.”

The Nez Perce claim to in-stream flow rights in the Snake River to protect its treaty-based fishery was the largest remaining issue in Idaho’s Snake River Basin Adjudication. This legal inventory, which affects 38 of Idaho’s 44 counties, has been sorting out more than 150,000 claims over nearly 20 years, including those of the Nez Perce Tribe, the State of Idaho, farmers and other agricultural users, towns, cities, industrial users, hydropower producers and various federal agencies.

The agreement will launch a habitat restoration and management initiative in the Salmon and Clearwater River Basins to improve in-stream flows and fish habitat and passage to benefit ESA-listed fish. The parties will agree on minimum flows pursuant to a state law process for 174 rivers and streams that are important for anadromous fish. These flows will be established in a manner that protects all existing uses of water and provides for future water development. A Habitat Fund will support improvements under this program and the state will administer innovative cooperative agreements under the ESA to enhance

riparian habitat.

The settlement also will include the transfer of mostly small, scattered parcels of federal land within the present Nez Perce reservation to the Tribe. The transferred units will be

subject to all valid existing mineral claims, grazing leases, rights

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of way and other rights and permitted uses. The parcels, valued at $7 million, will assist overall management and provide valuable compensation and benefit to the Tribe without incurring additional appropriations or costs.

The federal share of the settlement is about $193 million over 30 years. This agreement is the first major step in the settlement process. State and federal legislation, tribal approval, a court consent decree, and the drafting of ESA documents also are needed. To reach this agreement, state, private, tribal and U.S. representatives worked through a court-ordered mediation over several years under a confidentiality order of the Snake River Basin Adjudication court. These parties will remain actively engaged and work closely throughout the remainder of the settlement process.

More information on the terms and background of the Nez Perce water rights settlement are online at www.doi.gov.

The “term sheet” was complex enough to be of a piece with one of the most important remaining components of the Snake River Basin Adjudication.

A summary sheet outlines the key components of the agreement:

• NEZ PERCE TRIBAL COMPONENT which, among other things, quantifies the Tribe's on-reservation, consumptive use reserved water right at 50,000 acre feet a year with a priority date of 1855; establishes a $50 million multiple-use water and fisheries resources trust fund; provides $23 million for the design and construction of a water supply and sewer system on the reservation; transfers management authority of Kooskia National Fish Hatchery to the Tribe; and transfers a portion of Bureau of Land Management-administered land within the reservation valued at $7 million to the Tribe.

• SALMON/CLEARWATER HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION INITIATIVE which, among other things, provides that in-stream flows will be established and held by the Idaho Water Resources Board for selected streams of importance to the Tribe; requires the State of Idaho to administer a cooperative agreement under the Endangered Species Act; and establishes a Habitat Fund to provide funding for habitat improvement projects.

• SNAKE RIVER FLOW COMPONENT which, among other things, provides that certain minimum flows will be decreed by the SRBA Court to the Idaho Water Resources Board; requires the State of Idaho to extend the provisions of State law for the term of the agreement to allow the Bureau of Reclamation to lease up to 427,000 acre feet of water from Idaho water banks for flow augmentation; and allows Reclamation to acquire up to 60,000 acre feet of consumptive natural flow water rights from the Snake River, with compensation to local communities for impacts caused by this acquisition.

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Meeting the conditions set out in the agreement will be a major challenge. The backers said they plan to have that work wrapped up by April 2005, but acknowledge that is an ambitious goal.

That is true in part simply because of long list of “to-do” items. The mediator’s term sheet, a concise description of what must be done, runs 49 single-space pages.

The proposed settlement in one of the biggest single legal issues in Idaho water – that of the claims of the Nez Perce Tribe on in-stream flows in the Snake River – is on paper.

Mediation in the Nez Perce in-stream flow case began in 1998, and court orders relating to it date to July 1999. At several times parties indicated that successful mediation appeared unlikely, and at times judges have indicated they were ready to end that process and put the case on a “litigation track.”

Reports on progress in meeting the terms and conditions are expected to be delivered monthly to SRBA Court.

Contact: Frank Quimby (202) 208-7291; Diana Cross (208) 378-5020; Mike Journee (208) 334-2100 See Also: SRBA Digest; June 2004; Ridenbaugh Press; www.ridenbaugh.com Ridenbaugh Press has posted these documents about the Nez Perce agreement on its web site for easy access. Fact sheet www.ridenbaugh.com/srba/NPFactSheet.pdf Term sheet: www.ridenbaugh.com/srba/NPTermSheet.pdf Agreement summary: www.ridenbaugh.com/srba/agreementsummary.pdf

CO: City Council Approves Water Agreement The Colorado Springs City Council on May 25 approved a

regional intergovernmental agreement among Colorado Springs, City of Pueblo, Pueblo Board of Water Works, City of Aurora, City of Fountain, and Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Pending approval by the City of Aurora and the City of Fountain, the current agreement brings regional participation to the flow management program for the Arkansas River through Pueblo. The flow management program was a key component for Pueblo in the March 1, 2004 agreement signed by Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Pueblo Board of Water Works.

For the past 90 days, the City of Pueblo, Pueblo Board of Water Works and Colorado Springs met numerous times with Aurora Utilities, City of Fountain and the SECWD to ensure that existing water rights are protected when the flow management program is implemented. To protect existing water rights owned by Colorado Springs, Fountain and Aurora, and as part of the regional IGA, all entities have agreed to eventually construct regional storage facilities downstream on the Arkansas River to recapture water otherwise lost during flow management implementation.

In addition to downstream storage facilities, highlights of the March 1 IGA and the regional IGA include:

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• A regional flow management program for the Arkansas River through Pueblo with all parties’ participation.

• Prior to the construction of downstream storage, the parties will work together by using Pueblo Reservoir storage to “recover” water when the flow management program is implemented.

• City of Pueblo’s support for the Southern Delivery System and Colorado Springs’ request to connect the project pipeline at or near Pueblo Reservoir.

• City of Pueblo’s support for the federal Preferred Storage Options Plan legislation. The legislation includes two primary components: 1) provisions for long-term storage contracts at Pueblo Reservoir for water not derived from the Fryingpan-Arkansas River Project and 2) feasibility studies for enlarging Pueblo and Turquoise Reservoirs.

• Colorado Springs’ support for economic development, tourism, transportation and other initiatives of mutual benefit to the Pikes Peak region, Pueblo, and the lower Arkansas Valley.

Contact: 719-448-4800 Source: Colorado Springs Utilities

Palo Verde Farmers to Rotate Cropland A landmark program, in which farmers in the Palo Verde

Irrigation District of Riverside and Imperial counties will rotate a portion of their cropland in and out of production while transferring the unused irrigation water to urban Southern California, was given the final go-ahead by the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District. This action will clear the way for the board of directors of the Palo Verde Irrigation District to approve the agreement.

Approval by both agencies will give the green light to begin signing contracts with farmers around the city of Blythe, and some of their Colorado River irrigation water could begin flowing to the Southland's 18 million people as soon as August.

Under the agreement, farmers of the 104,500 acres of priority lands in the Palo Verde Irrigation District who sign on to the program will be eligible for one-time payments of $3,170 per acre for up to 29 percent of their irrigated acreage, and annual payments of $602 per acre kept out of production. The local economy will also benefit from an economic development fund of $6 million that will be established when the water transfers begin.

Sign-up and start-up costs will total approximately $100 million, and – depending on how much water is taken each year – the transfers could cost more than $1 billion over the life of the program.

Contact: Adan Ortega Jr. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 213-217-5786 http://www.mwd.dst.ca.us/mwdh2o/pages/news/press_releases/2004-05/PaloVerde.htm

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CA: Agreements on Delta Improvements

California’s top water official said Wednesday that state and federal agencies are close to reaching agreement on an implementation schedule and commitments for moving forward with a package of Delta improvements.

Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources, told members of the Association of California Water Agencies that the package presents an opportunity to tie together all elements of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. The package includes improvements in water supply reliability, water quality and fish protection.

Snow said there is a critical need for more storage as well as further investment in conservation, desalination and other tools to improve water supply reliability. He said the state should pursue partnerships with local agencies and regions to develop and fund needed projects. The Administration also wants to look at alternative ways for financing needed programs and improvements.

Snow mentioned current debate over whether private, investor-owned utilities should be eligible for grant funding under Proposition 50, the $3.4 billion water bond approved in 2002. He said a good argument could be made to allow investor-owned utilities to access grant funds for water use efficiency programs, and noted the department may release something on the issue in the next week or two.

http://www.acwanet.com/mediazone/newsreleases/view_release.asp?ID=307

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Legislation/Policy

CalFed Legislation Passes Out of Resources

Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-44th) was pleased to have his bill, H.R. 2828, the Water Supply, Reliability and Environmental Improvement Act (CalFed), overwhelmingly approved by the Committee on Resources. CalFed, would allow California, and the Western States, to meet their goal of enhanced water quality and supply through more efficient delivery and additional storage. "Today's victory of my bill brings us within reach of CalFed reauthorization. It means viable and livable solutions to California's, and the Western States', water needs for our children and grandchildren," said Rep. Calvert. Calvert offered an amendment to his original legislation which resolved most of the outstanding issues of concern among various water stakeholders and contributed to its overwhelming passage. The changes included a dramatic cost reduction to a total of $389 million, mirroring the costs in Senator Dianne Feinstein's bill S.1097; dictates that new storage will be limited to CalFed projects only; and other policy provisions.

Contact: Tami Plofchan May 5, 2004 (202) 225-1986

CO: Fish Passage for Price-Stubb Dam The Bureau of Reclamation has released for public review and

comment, a revised Supplemental Draft Environmental Assessment for providing endangered fish passage at the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam on the Colorado River near Palisade, Colorado.

The Price-Stubb Diversion Dam has been identified by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program as one of three barriers to endangered fish passage in the Upper Colorado River. Restored fish passage above these diversions will allow access to approximately 50 miles of upstream critical habitat. The Recovery Program is an interagency partnership created to recover four endangered Colorado River fishes while allowing for continued and future water development. The draft EA was prepared by Reclamation in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. The draft EA evaluates five alternatives including a No

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Action Alternative. Reclamation has identified the Downstream Rock Fish Passage Alternative with Whitewater Features as the preferred alternative. This alternative has the least impacts and most potential benefits of the alternatives for recreation, hydropower, endangered fish, and water users. A public meeting will be held on June 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Palisade Community Center located at Main Street and Highway 6 in Palisade, Colorado to discuss the alternatives included in the draft EA and seek public comments. Written comments on the draft EA should be sent to the Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office, 2764 Compass Drive, Grand Junction, Colorado 81506 on or before June 18, 2004. Comments may also be e-mailed to tstroh@uc.usbr.gov.

If you have any questions or would like a copy of the draft EA, please feel free to contact Terence Stroh at 970-248-0608

Klamath Water Users on NOAA Fisheries Statement

The following are extended excerpts of a letter dated May 13 from the Klamath Water Users Association to NOAA Fisheries:

Re: Klamath Project: Revised Incidental Take Statement Dear Mr. McInnis: By letter dated April 1, 2004, NOAA Fisheries transmitted to

the Klamath Basin Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation a revised incidental take statement (ITS) for NOAA Fisheries’ May 31, 2002 biological opinion (BO) regarding impacts of the Klamath Project on coho salmon. This letter provides the comments and objections of the Klamath Water Users Association to the revised ITS.

As you know, the Association and its members are vitally interested in the application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to the Klamath Project. We have sought at every opportunity to be heard. We have made known our desire to be involved and provide input to the agencies and have repeatedly asked for meaningful consideration of our views. Against this background, the appearance of the revised ITS is startling. We had no notice that it was under preparation. We were not afforded opportunity to provide any input. We were not furnished with a draft ITS for comment. Our community has in the past suffered from unjustified regulation that ignored our comments and concerns, and we had hoped this could not occur again.

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However, the ITS simply appeared, sending the message that Reclamation and the affected communities will live with what NOAA Fisheries dictates, without dialogue. This is unacceptable. Notwithstanding NOAA Fisheries’ avoidance of the Association’s concerns or interests, we are here providing our comments and objections to the revised ITS.

As described below, the revised ITS is fatally flawed from a legal perspective, and biased and arbitrary from a technical perspective. A number of shortcomings perpetuate those in the 2002 BO. These deficiencies should be cured in a new ITS and any future BO.

STRUCTURAL AND LEGAL DEFECTS In general, the ITS identifies a “surrogate” method for defining the amount or extent of incidental take. The surrogate is the “maintenance of certain flow-related habitat conditions.” If these flows are maintained, incidental take is deemed to be “within the acceptable range.” If they are not, the assumed “take” is assumed to be unacceptable. In addition to identifying these flow conditions, the ITS prescribes specific “ Reasonable and Prudent Measures” (RPMs) to minimize take resulting from the action, and “terms and conditions” to implement the RPMs.

Failure to Identify Take The ITS assumes “take” is acceptable if certain flow conditions are maintained. It utterly fails to explain how take is determined. In turn, this failure implicates two major deficiencies. First, the ITS avoids any genuine determination of take at all. Nowhere is there any articulation of whether or how some incremental change in flow (say, from 1200 to 900 cfs) supports a conclusion that take or increased take occurs or is likely. This point is reinforced in our discussion of technical issues, below. Second, there is no discussion or analysis that explains what flow condition is being compared to some other condition in order to determine whether and what take may occur. Stated another way, there is no identified baseline for the determination of take.

Unlawful Mandates The ITS contains RPMs and terms and

conditions to implement the RPMs. The majority of such provisions are unlawful and outside NOAA Fisheries’ authority, as described below. First, RPMs and terms and conditions must be limited to minimizing the incidental take of the action (and any RPA). 16 U.S.C. § 1536(b)(4)(B), (C)(ii); 50 C.F.R. § 402.14.

LACK OF OBJECTIVITY AND TECHNICAL DEFECTS In

addition to the fundamental, fatal defects described above, the ITS is laden with speculation and ambiguity, and lacks objectivity. It is particularly illustrative to review the sources cited in the ITS, and consider the sources not cited. We find extensive citation to the draft “Hardy Phase II” Report (even though NOAA Fisheries acknowledges this draft Report is undergoing revision) and a draft California Department of Fish and Game Report. Tellingly there is

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no reference to the “draft” undepleted flow study completed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Nor is there reference to any number of reports or studies that lead to different conclusions than the ITS. Shockingly, there is no reference whatever to the final report of the National Research Council of the National Academies (NRC Committee Report). The NRC Committee Report, of course, was commissioned by the Departments of Interior and Commerce. Its dismissal by NOAA Fisheries clearly signals that the Report does not serve the policy objectives of the authors of the ITS. The Association strenuously objects to this omission.

Below, we address specific subjects discussed in the ITS. Reduced Rearing Habitat The ITS states that a “reduction” in

spring mainstem flows during the months of March through June is expected to result in take of young-of-the-year and yearling coho that are attempting to rear in the mainstem Klamath River by decreasing the area of

edgewater habitat downstream of Iron Gate Dam (IGD). Consistent with our previous comments provided to NOAA Fisheries on the topic, the NRC Committee stated in its April 30th letter to Dr. Hogarth: In general, the committee was concerned about the paucity of evidence for the assertion in the biological opinion that the main stem is an important rearing area for coho salmon.

Elevated Water Temperatures While the ITS notes that “the complex interaction between juvenile coho survival and mainstem Klamath River temperatures is not fully understood at this time”, it nevertheless concludes that “flow releases lower than those outlined within the RPA are not likely to offer the same level of relief and could potentially result in increased coho take.” The ITS assumption that Iron Gate flows—particularly in “critical summer months”—will impart positive temperature benefits to coho salmon is completely speculative. There is no evidence to indicate that increasing upper Klamath reservoir releases during late summer or early fall would benefit salmon.

Increased Smolt Run Timing The ITS assumes a spring flow/coho smolt survival relationship. NOAA Fisheries has failed to acknowledge that there are no data to demonstrate that this factor is limiting the production of coho in the Klamath River. The

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assumption cited in the NOAA Fisheries BO was largely derived from studies of salmon migrating through the large Columbia River reservoirs, not the free-flowing Klamath River.

Delayed Adult Passage The ITS claims that “low IGD flows during the mid-August through October period may result in take of adult coho salmon through delayed upstream migration. Any delay in the natural migration rate could leave adult coho more susceptible to estuarine predators…while increasing the risk of mortality associated with density-dependent diseases… .” (emphasis added). The final NRC Committee report, however, questioned the degree of influence of the Klamath Project on the estuary, located 200 miles downstream: “…total annual flow in the lower Klamath and its estuary has been altered only to a small degree by water development in the upper basin, even though water development has had drastic effects on hydrographs in a number of headwater areas. Thus, changes in total flow are not sufficiently large to suggest significant biological effects on the estuary strictly related to flow. Furthermore, fall flows, even in years of average or above average moisture, tend to be higher than they were historically at the mouth of the Klamath, which would indicate that fall migrations probably have not been impaired by flow depletion per se.”

CONCLUSION The ITS is fundamentally flawed for the reasons stated above. These deficiencies should be cured in a new ITS and any future BO.

Sincerely, Dan Keppen Executive Director cc: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden U.S. Senator Gordon Smith U.S.

Rep. Wally Herger U.S. Rep. John Doolittle U.S. Rep. Greg Walden U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson Sue Ellen Wooldridge, DOI Dave Sabo, USBR Kirk Rodgers, USBR Irma Lagomarsino, NOAA Fisheries Steve Thompson, USFWS

GA: Governor Signs Water Plan Bill Standing on the banks of West Point Lake in Troup County,

Governor Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 237 authorizing the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to prepare a statewide comprehensive water plan. EPD is to prepare the comprehensive plan by July 1, 2007 in order that it may be reviewed by the General Assembly in 2008.

"As Georgia continues to grow and prosper, it is incumbent upon us to develop a comprehensive statewide plan that addresses our long-term water needs and conservation efforts," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "Water nourishes our environment and is a major driving force of our state's economy."

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EPD, along with other state agencies and local governments, has been managing the state's water supply and preparing water plans for decades. As Georgia's population continues to grow and the demands on water resources increase, Georgia requires a comprehensive plan, integrating all of its water management programs.

"People throughout Georgia must work together on a statewide comprehensive water plan," said EPD Director Carol A. Couch. "Population growth and periodic drought have put tremendous strain on our water resources, so there is no time to lose."

The Joint Comprehensive Water Plan Study Committee, under the leadership of Representative Bob Hanner and Senator Hugh Gillis, met over an 18-month period and its recommendations formed the basis for House Bill 237. The Georgia Water Resources Council, formed by Governor Perdue last October, developed the parameters of a comprehensive water plan prior to the 2004 session of the General Assembly.

House Bill 237 provides for a Water Council to guide and direct EPD's efforts. Extensive stakeholder involvement will be necessary for the development of a successful plan. A wide range of water issues will be addressed, including water allocation to farmers, industry and local government. It also seeks to reduce nonpoint source pollution, or run off from the land into streams and lakes. Each geographic area of Georgia has unique water stresses and this plan will provide for complementary regional solutions.

http://www.gov.state.ga.us/press/2004/press452.shtml Contact: Office of Communications 404-651-7774

Supply

FL: Water Shortage in St. Lucie Co. The South Florida Water Management District on May 26

declared a water shortage emergency within the St. Lucie County Agricultural Area Water Use Basin as a result of below average rainfall so far this year. The declaration requires that all permitted irrigation pumping from the C-23, C-24 and C-25 canals cease immediately. Domestic users must abide by Phase I Water Restrictions.

The majority of permit holders in these basins are agricultural operations. The growers have voluntarily been working to reduce water use to keep the canals at or above 14.0 feet. However, at this

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time, the water levels are consistently declining, causing the need for immediate emergency action restricting further withdrawals from the canals.

When canal levels rise above 14.0 feet, while under the order, the District may allow withdrawals at permitted rates. Each morning, canal water levels will be assessed and a management protocol will be communicated to users affected in the basin by e-mail and/or phone messages. Users can also check the District’s web site at www.sfwmd.gov to receive the water shortage management protocol. The “St. Lucie Agricultural Area Water Shortage Hotline” number is 1-800-250-4100, ext. 3614.

Rainfall in the St. Lucie County Agricultural Area is the primary source of recharge for three canals: C-23, C-24 and C-25. Since January 1, 2004, this area received only 9.34 inches of rain, or 6.06 inches below normal for this period. Statistically, the area has received 61% of its average amount of rainfall for this time period.

The low rainfall has also prompted officials to begin freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee Estuary to counter increased salinity levels there.

“The District is taking this proactive step to help protect the ecological health of the estuary,” said District Governing Board member Trudi Williams. “Based on current conditions in the estuary, an environmental water supply delivery from the lake is warranted to alleviate stress on the underwater vegetation.”

CONTACT: Randy Smith South Florida Water Management District Office: (561) 682-6197 Cell: (561) 389-3386

Western Snowpack

For daily updates on western snowpacks go to: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/sno_narr3_pl

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Monthly-average streamflow for the month of the year

Map of 7-day median streamflow compared to historical streamflow

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Resources

CA: Family Farm Alliance News Flash The Ventura County Star has just completed running a three

part series on water in the West. It is a very extensive look at a number of the critical water issues facing irrigators and urban entities. This series is well worth reading, both for information and to understand the image and bias the media has toward irrigated agriculture. The series was run on three consecutive Sundays, April 25, May 2 and May 9.

Listed below are the article titles. A link below will take you to a compilation of the articles sent to us by the California Department of Water Resources. These pages do not contain any of the graphics that were included in the articles. If you want to read the series with graphics, a link to the Ventura County Star is included on our web site. Registration is required to access the Star's web site.

• Too many people and too little water could signal an impending crisis in the western United States.

• A small fish is at the center of a big fight in the Pacific Northwest that pits Indian tribes against farmers.

• The water that flows from the Colorado River and its tributaries provides a crucial link between people in the suburbs of the western United States and the villages of Mexico.

• The hot and dry Imperial Valley is home to a farming empire that created $1.1 billion in crops in 2002 and is a model for the water battles that loom in California's future.

To access the article series and for more information about the Family Farm Alliance, please access the organization's website at www.familyfarmalliance.org.

New BurRec Manager The Bureau of Reclamation's Great Plains Regional Director

Maryanne Bach today announced the appointment of Alice Johns of Loveland, Colo., as manager of the Bureau of Reclamation's Nebraska-Kansas Area Office.

The area office is in Grand Island, Neb., with a field office in McCook, Neb.

Bach said Johns will be responsible for managing programs and facilities associated with 15 Bureau of Reclamation dams and reservoirs in Nebraska and Kansas. Reclamation facilities in the two states provide water to nearly 300,000 acres of farmland

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which produce over $275 million worth of crops each year. The reservoirs are also popular recreation areas.

Bach said Johns will report to her new assignment in late June. She fills the vacancy left by Fred Ore who is now Reclamation's Deputy Director, Operations, in Washington, DC.

Mark Andersen 406-247- 7610or 406-698-5362 http://www.usbr.gov/gp/pr/nkao_area_manager.htm

OH: Drain Pipe Irrigation Cleans Groundwater

Pumping water back through the same buried pipes used to drain wet fields could increase crop yields significantly while cleaning groundwater and providing a wetland wildlife habitat. Results from three test sites show corn yields went up nine to 60 bushels an acre, and soybean yields went up six to 11 bushels an acre, on average. During the drier growing seasons, corn and soybean yields went up by 48 and 40 percent, respectively. The test sites have been in operation for six to seven growing seasons in the northwest Ohio counties of Fulton, Defiance and Van Wert.

ARS agricultural engineer Barry Allred, ARS soil scientist Norm Fausey and colleagues in Columbus, Ohio, developed the system in collaboration with Ohio State University and the Maumee Valley Resource Conservation and Development Area. Drainage water flows from farm fields through a wetland before being stored in a reservoir, to be used later for irrigation. Many farmers in the upper Midwest have soils so wet they must drain them. Drainage water can pollute surface and ground waters. Preliminary results show that water exiting the wetland had, on average, 75 percent less solids – organic matter and sediment, with pesticides possibly attached; 74 percent less nitrate from fertilizer and 63 percent less organic carbon.

The wetland trapped the solids and organic carbon, and used the nitrogen to fertilize wetland plants. Vegetation is thriving in the healthy wetland, providing cover for a variety of wildlife, with up to 19 species of dragonflies – indicators of good water quality –as well as waterfowl, including herons and mallards. Blanchard's cricket frogs thrive at the Defiance County site, although they're on the decline elsewhere in Ohio. The reuse system keeps the water table constant during the growing season, giving crops all the water they need. The stable water table also limits nitrate-nitrogen from leaching below the reach of corn or soybean roots.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2004/040524.htm

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USDA Establishes Watershed Approach For Conservation Security Program

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced May 4 the watershed approach and details of the enrollment categories that will be used in the fiscal year 2004 Conservation Security Program sign-up to be held this summer.

"Watersheds are nature's boundaries and are a good way to group together producers working on similar environmental issues," Veneman said. "With a rotation through the nation's watersheds, every farmer and rancher will have a chance to participate in the program and will provide the flexibility needed to expand the program as more funds become available."

In order to implement CSP this fiscal year, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will immediately begin to train employees on the selection process to determine priority watersheds and establish enrollment categories.

USDA will use watersheds as a basis to determine CSP participation. Economically, the $41 million budget for CSP in fiscal year 2004 will permit NRCS to write 3,000 to 5,000 contracts. With 1.8 million potentially eligible producers, CSP funds must be focused.

Administratively, the law requires that NRCS not incur more than 15 percent technical assistance costs associated with CSP. Under this scenario, a nationwide program would not work; a watershed rotation offers a fair, science-based alternative.

All CSP applications that meet the sign-up criteria will be placed in an enrollment category regardless of available funding. In addition to legal contract requirements, the categories will consider the applicants' current stewardship (soil condition, tillage intensity, existing practices and activities) and will sort producers based on these factors. Categories also will examine producers' willingness to perform additional conservation activities during their CSP contract.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp. Contact: 202-720-4623

NM: Pojoaque Basin Water Alliance Launches Web Site

From the web site: If you are a non-Pueblo resident and you reside in the Pojoaque

Basin, which includes the villages of Tesuque, Chupadero, Rio En Medio, Nambé, Cuyamungue, El Rancho, Jacona, Jaconita and

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Pojoaque, the proposed Aamodt Water Settlement affects you today, tomorrow, and forever!

THE POJOAQUE WATER BASIN ALLIANCE was created because well owner interests were not represented during the two years of secret negotiations that led up to the proposed Aamodt Water Settlement. The members of our communities have the following concerns:

The secret and undemocratic process under which the proposed settlement was negotiated

The taking of valuable water rights without due process or just compensation

Potential health risks from water drawn from the Rio Grande Potential negative environmental impacts caused by massive

pumping of underground water and the construction of the regional water system

The setting of a legal precedence that will impact other rural communities in New Mexico and the United States and the proposed settlement's impact on local acequias and the undermining of the traditional culture and livelihoods of northern New Mexico.

www.pbwalliance.org http://www.seo.state.nm.us/water-info/AamodtSettlement/Aamodt-menu.html

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Meetings/events

Texas Observes 100 Years of Rule of Capture

Symposium; Tuesday, June 15, 2004; Sponsored by the Texas Water Development Board Groundwater law has evolved and our understanding of groundwater has improved, but both remain controversial as water resources become increasingly scarce in Texas. The symposium will focus on the rule of capture, changes to groundwater law since the 1904 ruling, and possible changes in the future.

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/gam/roc/

• June 13 – 17 AWWA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL www.awwa.org/ace2004

• June 28-30 2004 Summer Specialty Conference: Riparian Ecosystems And Buffers; AWRA; Resort At Squaw Creek, Olympic Valley, CA info@awra.org, 540-687-8390

• July 14 – 16 Western States Water Council; Summer Meeting; Newport, OR

• July 15-16 Water Education Foundation: Water Law & Policy Briefing, San Diego, CA www.watereducation.org 916-444-6240

• July 28 – 31 NWRA: Western Water Seminar, Santa Ana Pueblo, NM 703-524-1544

• August 25 – 27 Urban Water Institute: 11th Annual Urban Water Conference, San Diego, CA 949-679-9676

• Aug. 29 – Sept. 1 AWRA International Specialty Conference, Dundee, Scotland info@awra.org, 540-687-8390

• September 24-26 Northern California Tour. For more information visit www.watereducation.org.

• September 27-October 1CSDA Annual Conference & Trade Show, Renaissance Esmeralda, Riverside County. Contact California Specialist Districts Association, www.csd.net for more.

• September 28-29, Bonneville Power Administration Symposium; DoubleTree Hotel, Jantzen Beach, Portland, Oregon; Jennifer Eskil ,(509) 527-6232, e-mail at jleskil@bpa.gov.

• October 15-17 Southern California Groundwater Tour. For more information visit www.watereducation.org.

•November 1-4 AWRA 2004 Annual Conference; Sheraton World Resort;Orlando, Florida Registration: www.awra.org/meetngs/Orlando2004/conf_reg.pdf,

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• November 9-12 National Water Resources Association's Federal Water Seminar, Hotel del Coronado, Coronado. For information, contact NWRA at 703.524.1544.

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THE NATIONAL WATER RIGHTS DIGEST To subscribe: � write to Ridenbaugh Press, P.O. Box 834; Carlton, OR 97111. � call us at (503-852-0010 � e-mail stapilus@ridenbaugh.com � on the web http://www.ridenbaugh.com/nwrd Subscription rates: � Print copy, delivered by first class mail -- $129 per year. � Electronic copy by e-mail through the Internet -- $99 per year. � Idaho residents add 6% sales tax where applicable. Editor and Publisher: Randy Stapilus • Editor: Linda Watkins © 2004 Ridenbaugh Press. The Digest is published monthly.

Ridenbaugh Press P.O. Box 834 Carlton, OR 97111