Title: Washington State Climate Change Adaptation Efforts in the Water Sector
1Washington State Climate Change Adaptation
Efforts in the Water Sector
- Kurt Unger
- Policy and Planning, Water Resources Program
Washington State Department of Ecology
2The Water Issues What We Know
- Climate change will mean less water when its
needed most - Theres already not enough water to go around in
the summer - Climate change will push policy makers to make
tough decisions - Acting sooner rather than later preferable but
politically challenging - States and provinces in the Columbia River Basin
share same resources but dont collaborate enough
3Water Issues What We Dont Know
- What will our streams and aquifers look like in a
climate changed future? - Planning used to be based on the historic record,
what should it be based on now? - Can we adapt? How?
- How much water are people using?
- How much can people conserve?
- Can different states and provinces find some
common ground on water policy? - Will climate change serve as a catalyst for
action?
4Climate Change Will Mean Less Water When Its
Needed Most
- Spilling water for salmon vs. generating power
- Less water - warmer water
- Less groundwater - warmer surface water
- Warmer air - crops, lawns need more water
- More water, more pumping, more energy
- Warmer air - more energy to power AC
- More water needed to generate power
- Factor in population, Governors Executive Order
5Population Growth People Need Water
6Population GrowthPeople Need Water
- Projected Population Growth Extrapolating Current
Trends - Current population 6.3 million
- 2025 population 8.1 million
- 2050 population 10.3 million
7Everything Else Needs Water Too
8Incorporating Climate Change into Decision
MakingThe Need for Action
- Observed and Projected (2020s, 2040s)
Streamflow at the Dalles
9Incorporating Climate Change into Decision
MakingDealing with Uncertainty
10Governors Executive Order Washington Climate
Change Challenge
- By 2020, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
levels - By 2035, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 25
below 1990 levels - By 2050, reduce emissions to 50 below 1990
levels - Population Context
- Population in 1990 4.8 million
- Population in 2050 10.3 million
- Per capita C footprint will need to be lt25 of
1990 -
11The CAT, PAWGs and TWGs
12Big Picture CAT, PAWGs, TWGs
- Formed to assist Ecology and CTED in developing
recommendations for the Governor on how
Washington can prepare and adapt to the impacts
of climate change. - Incorporate climate change into law, policies,
rules, planning, thinking - Brainstorming
- Low hanging fruit at first
- Task forces to study/work more complicated issues
- Likely an evolving, continuing process
13- Western Regional Climate Action Initiative
(2/26/07)
- Set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) - Develop regional market based multi-sector
mechanism to achieve regional GHG reduction goal
(cap and trade) - Participate in a multi-state GHG registry
- Identify measures in our states, tribes and
provinces to adapt to climate change
14Freshwater PAWG Update
- 4 meetings to date, 4 more planned before
December - Currently developing Action Priorities around
- Drought
- Water management
- Conservation
- Information gathering
- Planning
- Outreach
15Freshwater PAWG Drought
- Drought Preparedness Account (DPA)
- Funding nearly depleted
- Currently no bonding authority
- Bonds could be sold on an as-needed basis to
support a multi-year preparation and response - An active DPA would help folks adapt to
increasing frequency of drought - Funding could be tied to
- Development of drought response plans
- Goals for achieving efficiency and conservation
targets in non-drought years as well - Whats a drought?
- Is it really an emergency if it happens every
year?
16Defining Drought in a Climate Changed World The
Changing Relationship Between Normal and the
Mean of the Historic Record
- normal
- - adjective
- 1. conforming to the standard or the common
type usual not abnormal regular - 2. serving to establish a standard
- - noun
- 1. the average or mean
17Climate Change as a Catalyst Drought Planning
- How is drought defined in statute?
- Undue hardship, 75 of normal supply
- Whats normal in a changing data set?
- Mean historic record? Clearly, no
- Mean last 30 years?
- Mean last 20 years?
- Mean last 20 years and projected 20 year future?
- Whos future?
- How does the State promote drought planning as
opposed to more frequent emergency responses?
18Case StudyLittle Spokane at Dartford
19(No Transcript)
20(No Transcript)
21Setting the Record Straight
- Defining normal as running 20-year mean
- 28 decrease in frequency of possible drought
declarations during last 10 years - If normal mean of historic record, and thats
no longer reflective of current normal
conditions, what do we do? - Options
- Less difficult Ecology rule that defines how
normal is calculated for drought purposes - More difficult change the drought statute
- Do nothing, just declare drought more often
- Does that strategy promote adaptation?
22Freshwater PAWG Water Management
- Address current barriers to the sustainable
regulation and management of groundwater
resources (exempt wells) - Explore means to achieve instream flows
- Enforce penalties for illegal use
- Explore new water storage options
23Climate Change as a CatalystPermit Exempt Wells
- RCW 90.44.050 Exemptions to the Permit
Requirement to Withdraw State Waters - No permit is required for any withdrawal of
public ground waters for stock-watering purposes,
or for the watering of a lawn or of a
noncommercial garden not exceeding one-half acre
in area, or for single or group domestic uses in
an amount not exceeding five thousand gallons a
day, or as provided in RCW 90.44.052, or for an
industrial purpose in an amount not exceeding
five thousand gallons a day
24Permit Exempt Wells Some Assumptions and
Guesstimates
- Most wells are on septic
- Domestic use largely (90?) non-consumptive
- Outdoor use largely (90?) consumptive
- Outdoor use in the summer is for lawn and
gardening, requires lots of water (shallow roots) - Theres about ¾ million wells in WA, ¼ million
likely abandoned/decommissioned - Approximately 8,000 new wells/year
- Most are permit exempt
- This probably represents about 80 of actual
total - Approximately 1,000 decommissioned/abandoned
wells/year
25Climate Change as a CatalystPermit Exempt Wells
- Exemption caveats
- Only exempt from the permit process
- 1997 AGO permit exemption does not apply to a
group of wells constructed as part of a single
development - Ecology v. Campbell and Gwinn (2002)
- Developer wanted to develop 20 lots using 20
permit exempt wells - It is the developer, not the homeowner, who is
seeking the exemption in order to drill wellsand
provide for group domestic use in excess of 5,000
gallons
26Climate Change as a CatalystPermit Exempt Wells
- Some areas of the state are allowing permit
exempt well developments to proliferate in such a
manner that could be interpreted as contradicting
the intent of Campbell and Gwinn - Whats a project?
- Some decisions to allow such developments may not
be considering - The cumulative effect of such withdrawals on the
aquifer and streams the groundwater feeds - The cumulative effect of such withdrawals on
senior water rights - The long-term viability of such a policy
- Factor in climate change
27Its Not Really Whether or Not Theres Water,
Its Where Would that Water Have Gone?
28Climate Change as a Catalyst Permit Exempt Wells
29Climate Change as a Catalyst Permit Exempt Wells
30Climate Change as a Catalyst Permit Exempt Wells
31Climate Change as a Catalyst Permit Exempt
Wells Kittitas Petition
- APA derived citizen petition recently filed for
Ecology to withdraw Kittitas County groundwater
resources until such time that sufficient
information and data are available to allow for
sound decisions on future withdrawals per RCW
90.54.050 - 1200 permit exempt wells since 2002
- Alleges 6,000 lots await development, vast
majority allegedly will use permit exempt wells - Alleges developers are avoiding Campbell and
Gwinn via LLCs - Seniors alleging potential water quantity/quality
impairment from cumulative effect of permit
exempt wells - Yakima
32Kittitas County Petition More of These in a
Climate Changed Future?
- RCW 90.44.130 Between appropriators of public
ground water, the prior appropriator shall as
against subsequent appropriators from the same
ground water body be entitled to the preferred
use of such ground water to the extent of his
appropriation and beneficial use, and shall enjoy
the right to have any withdrawals by a subsequent
appropriator of ground water limited to an amount
that will maintain and provide a safe sustaining
yield
33Climate Change as a Catalyst Enforcement
- Calls for more enforcement are becoming
increasingly more common - Climate change will breed more conflict
- More water masters?
- Caveat Ecology can only regulate users in an
adjudicated basin (Rettkowski v. Ecology (1993))
34Climate Change as a Catalyst Adjudication
- Adjudication definition
- Legal process whereby each water right is
examined and a determination on the validity and
quantity associated with each right is made
- Adjudication Need
- Wide discrepancy between wet and paper water
rights - More difficult to regulate/protect instream flow
rights without adjudication - Accurate information helpful for effective water
banks - Only 10 of land area in Washington adjudicated
35Climate Change as a Catalyst Adjudication
- Adjudication is time consuming
- and expensive
- Yakima, 30 years and running
- only surface water
- Other options
- Water courts
- A bill that would have established water courts
was introduced in 2005. It had one hearing and
died. Reintroduced in 2006, died. - Streamlined adjudications
36Climate Change as a CatalystMoving Beyond
Setting Instream Flows
- Climate change will make it more difficult to
achieve instream flows - Could instream flow rules
- Define achievement?
- Identify a funding source to purchase senior
water rights? - What if there are no willing sellers?
- RCW 90.54.010 Instream resources and values
must be preserved and protected so that future
generations can continue to enjoy them - RCW 90.54.020 Perennial rivers and streams of
the state shall be retained with base flows
necessary to provide for preservation of
wildlife, fish, scenic, aesthetic and other
environmental values, and navigational values.
37Climate Change the Storage Debate
- Off channel storage
- Cost benefit analysis
- Recreation and drawdown
- Funding
- Hanford
- Small storage, rain catchment
- Aquifer storage and recovery
38Freshwater PAWG Conservation
- Fund water conservation activities
- Promote water conservation
- Support/adopt stronger efficiency standards
- Promote reclaimed water
- Promote low impact development
39Climate Change as a Catalyst Decreasing Demand
via Conservation and Efficiency
- Climate change will exacerbate supply and demand
conflicts in the summer - How much will people voluntarily conserve?
- After the voluntary peak, whats next?
- Conservation incentives via state cost sharing?
- Efficiency standards?
- Economic incentives?
- Like mandatory LEED, mandatory WaterSense for
state buildings, schoolsbeyond? - Decoupling profit from consumption in utility
rates to increase conservation?
40Climate Change as a Catalyst Reclaimed Water
- Encouraging reclaimed water
- What about new consumptive uses?
- In Yakima, thats impairment
- Compensation/mitigation must be agreed to by
holder of impaired right - Governor vetoed 2007 change to just
compensation - Mandating reclaimed water for certain uses?
- Toilet flushing?
- Golf courses?
- Recreational fields?
- Some agriculture?
- Mandatory reclaimed for new housing developments?
- More than 40,000 homes in Melbourne, Australia
must get purple pipe for toilet flushing, washing
cars and watering gardens, lawns
41Climate Change as a Catalyst Encouraging Low
Impact Development
- Climate change will push communities that want to
continue growing to push for LID - Localized greywater, stormwater treatment
- Localized storage, rain harvesting
- More permeable surfaces local aquifer recharge
- Restoring/maintaining natural hydrologic
functions
42Freshwater PAWG Information Gathering, Science
- Develop better understanding of water use
43Climate Change as a Catalyst Wheres all the
Water Going?
- More gages, groundwater monitoring
- Mandatory metering
- Ecology required to meter 80 of use in 16 fish
critical basins - Ecology goal to meter 90 of surface and ground
water diverted from the Columbia within a
one-mile corridor by June 2009 - In Yakima River Basin surface water diversions
are required to be metered per County Superior
Court orders - Can we do more?
- Non-critical basins too?
- Mandatory telemetry?
44Climate Change as a Catalyst Wheres all the
Water Going?
- Can we meter permit exempt wells?
- Just started this in the Walla Walla
- What about going statewide?
- Estimated ½ million wells with 8,000 new
wells/year - Costs to implement and administer worth the
benefit?
45Freshwater PAWG Planning and Outreach
- Incorporate climate change into comprehensive
plans under GMA - Incorporate climate change into SEPA
- Engage the public to raise awareness about
climate change - Engage watershed planning groups to consider
climate change
46Climate Change Other Water Policy Issues
- Water quality
- Water temperature
- Flooding
- Agriculture
- Forests
- Human Health
- Recreation
47Viewing Water Policy through a Carbon Lens the
Energy Water Nexus
- Meeting the Governors Executive Order will push
all communities to weigh the carbon footprints of
different water policies
- What part can the water sector play in reducing
carbon emissions? - Centralization vs. decentralization
- Energy to treat/transport stormwater, greywater
vs. local, on site - Water conservation energy conservation
- Water efficiency energy efficiency
- Ex. Hot water heaters vs. tankless heaters
- Less pollution less treatment energy