Walla Walla irrigators avoid Klamath fate

Wwalla.wav 3:01 feature 9/7/01 Tom Banse/olybur

Lead:
Last month, Oregon governor John Kitzhaber warned that other Northwest farming communities could soon suffer the same fate as the Klamath basin. Threats and protests have rocked the Klamath Falls area all summer after the government shut off water to hundreds of farms. But the future crisis doesn't have to be automatic. Correspondent Tom Banse explains how the Walla Walla Valley is avoiding a showdown over who gets scarce water.

UNTIL THIS YEAR, IRRIGATORS SUCKED SO MUCH WATER OUT OF THE WALLA WALLA RIVER THAT SECTIONS WENT COMPLETELY DRY IN THE SUMMER.

James: "Look at the river upstream. It's a real river. So basically, the whole Walla Walla River has been diverted at this point."

Sound: [water rushing into canal]

UMATILLA TRIBAL FISHERIES MANAGER GARY JAMES STANDS AT THE MAIN IRRIGATION INTAKE, WHICH IS A LOW DAM NEAR THE OREGON TOWN OF MILTON-FREEWATER. THE RIVER DOWNSTREAM ISN'T BRIMMING WITH WATER. BUT THIS SUMMER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, FARMERS ARE LEAVING ENOUGH SUCH THAT THE WALLA WALLA RIVER FLOWS CONTINUOUSLY FROM ITS HEADWATERS IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TO ITS JUNCTION WITH THE COLUMBIA. NO FISH BIOLOGISTS HAD TO GO OUT WITH NETS AND BUCKETS TO RESCUE THREATENED BULL TROUT AND STEELHEAD FROM STAGNANT POOLS. WHEAT FARMER LYNN CHAMBERLAIN BUCHANAN SAYS IRRIGATORS IN THE AREA RECOGNIZED THERE WAS A PROBLEM AND AGREED TO WATER CUTBACKS.

Chamberlain-Buchanan: "What we want to do is stay out of the arena of lawsuits. We believe that lawsuits pit people against one another. By their very nature, they're aggressive and combative and they bring out the worst in us."

BY ALL MEANS, THIS COMMUNITY WANTS TO AVOID BECOMING THE NEXT KLAMATH FALLS. THERE'S PLENTY OF REASON TO WORRY. THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY AND THE KLAMATH BASIN TO THE SOUTH START OUT WITH NEARLY ALL THE SAME INGREDIENTS -- DROUGHT, LOTS OF IRRIGATED FARMS, FEDERAL MONITORING OF ENDANGERED FISH. EACH PLACE HAS AN INDIAN TRIBE AND LITIGIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS. IN THE KLAMATH BASIN, THAT VOLATILE BREW BOILED OVER THIS SUMMER. IT COULD HAVE IN WALLA WALLA TOO, SAYS ROB CALDWELL, DIRECTOR OF THE SEATTLE-BASED CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY.

Caldwell: "We started with confrontation. Reed Benson from Oregon WaterWatch and myself called up the irrigation districts and told them that we intended to use the Endangered Species Act to protect steelhead and bull trout."

BUT THEN ALL SIDES PULLED BACK. CALDWELL SAYS THE KEY WAS THAT THE IRRIGATORS TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STATE OF THEIR RIVER AND MADE A COUNTEROFFER.

Caldwell: "They said, 'You know, we caused this problem. We want to fix it. Rather than sue us, why don't you work with us to fix it?' We just couldn't turn something like that down."

THE IRRIGATORS SAY IT WAS PIVOTAL THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SHOWED WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE AND BE A LITTLE PATIENT. SOME FARMERS ARE NOW SWITCHING TO LESS WATER INTENSIVE CROPS, LIKE GOING FROM HAY TO WINE GRAPES. THE IRRIGATION DISTRICTS ARE SEEKING MONEY TO UPGRADE LEAKY EARTHEN DITCHES TO SEALED PIPES. THE GOVERNMENT IS LEASING OR OUTRIGHT BUYING SOME WATER ALLOCATIONS FROM FARMERS. THE HOPE IS NEXT YEAR TO HAVE EVEN MORE WATER STAY IN THE WALLA WALLA RIVER AND DO IT WITHOUT PUTTING ANY IRRIGATORS OUT OF BUSINESS INVOLUNTARILY. THAT COULD PROVIDE AN ENVIABLE EXAMPLE TO KLAMATH FALLS AND TO OTHER BASINS IN TROUBLE SUCH AS WASHINGTON'S METHOW VALLEY. I'M TOM BANSE IN OLYMPIA.