Water. Its importance to the local economy cannot be exaggerated.

The Yakima River system has created an agricultural titan with a worldwide reputation for apples, wine and hops, to name just a few local crops.

What's more, the entire three-county Yakima River Basin draws people from far and wide seeking its stunning views and recreational attractions.

But the basin is entering a new phase, one not previously contemplated. One that will challenge long-held beliefs about the availability of water.

Water supplies, both from rivers and streams on the surface and aquifers underground, will now be managed as one resource, no longer separated by regulators. As it turns out, we have one big pot of water to draw from -- and it's finite.

We want economic growth and we want to protect the environment. That means new approaches to managing water resources are required because the river system is fully appropriated -- which means all the water is spoken for.

And with climate change and its associated droughts a growing threat each year, the prospect of shutting off water -- in short, rationing -- is not far afield.

As a result, residents and policy-makers may have to accept that growth in some areas of the Valley isn't possible because no water is available.

Dreams of storage continue as the ultimate solution to our water woes. But the reality is that building costly new reservoirs could take decades and require the acquiescence of environmentalists.

The challenge before the Yakima Valley is not unique. Across the arid West, exempt wells are becoming a bigger issue in Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

At the moment, upper Kittitas County is the flash point. There, exempt wells are prohibited unless the new well is offset by purchasing a share of a senior water right to avoid any net impact on surface flows.

Nathan Bracken, lead counsel for the Western States Water Council, a Utah-based water think tank, described Kittitas County as the hotbed for Western water issues.

"I think there is this tendency to see the ability to drill a well as a basic human right," Bracken observed. "That belief is part of the dynamic that fuels the issue and what makes it so emotional."

Today through Tuesday, the Yakima Herald-Republic's veteran water reporter, David Lester, will delve into this complex, emotional and nuanced topic, shedding light on the problem, the politics and possible new approaches for managing this precious resource.

-- Leah Beth Ward, Assistant City Editor

About the writer

David Lester covered his first drought for the Yakima Herald-Republic in 1977, working from the newspaper’s bureau in his hometown of Sunnyside.

He said the event was a major wake-up call that water would be an ongoing, critical problem facing the entire three-county Yakima River Basin, from upper Kittitas County to Benton City.

Over the next 30 years, Lester became the newspaper’s water expert, covering five major droughts and landmark legal cases, including the ongoing adjudication of surface water rights in the basin and the 1980 Quackenbush Decision.

That ruling, by U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush of Spokane, assured that water would keep flowing in the upper basin during winter months and is credited with helping bolster once-decimated spring chinook salmon.

Lester noted that there are "tremendous demands" on the Yakima River and that a serious drought could happen any year, threatening the region’s agriculture-dependent economy.

"Without the river, there wouldn’t be much here," he said.