CHINOOK PASS -- Jack Selby of Kennewick may have the elusive, permanent answer he has been seeking for seven years. So may Bob Romero, general director of the Yakima Family YMCA, Selby's approximately 500 fellow private cabin owners across the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains and other nonprofit summer camps. An annual threat that water use will be shut off during a drought so the needs of older water rights can be met could be over for them. There is a proposal in play that would allow the Department of Ecology to purchase some water from the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District. The sale could be the blueprint for a water marketing system to satisfy future new water needs for growth and development in the Yakima River Basin where water is precious and in limited supply. Bob Barwin thinks so. The state Ecology environmental engineer said new storage may one day be available. But creating a willing-buyer, willing-seller market for water and further conservation may provide a quicker solution. "We believe there is more to be gained in pursuing those avenues in the intermediate term as contrasted to developing new water supplies for a new use," said Barwin, who has worked on basin water issues for many years. State lawmakers tried to spur movement last year with a $300,000 investment in a program to encourage existing water-right holders whose rights date back to before 1905 to consider selling a piece of their rights. So far, none of the money has been spent. One reason, according to Kelsey Collins of the Department of Ecology, who is working on the water rights purchase program, is the complexity of state water law and confusion and some reluctance on the part of potential sellers. Dick Haapala, a Yakima consulting engineer and president of the Camp Prime Time board, helped put together the beginnings of a possible solution for the camps and cabin owners. "We are interested in solving the problem and we will do all we can to help achieve that goal," he said. The solution may lie miles away from the camps and cabins. What Haapala proposed and is now being pursued is the purchase of a small amount of water from the Sunnyside district. The district, which delivers water to 99,000 acres in the heart of the Yakima Valley below Union Gap, is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar modernization program that will conserve water. The 1994 federal law that authorized irrigation-district conservation programs provides that two-thirds of the water saved through modernization goes to instream flows for fish. The remaining one-third -- in this case 10,000 acre-feet -- remains in the possession of the district. An acre-foot equals 325,000 gallons of water, enough to cover an acre of land with water a foot deep. It is from that 10,000 acre-feet that SVID directors are being asked to consider selling 200 acre-feet to supply the camps and cabins each summer. Jim Trull, manager of the district, said a request that the district consider a sale has been on the table about two weeks. Directors, he said, want much more information but are willing to consider it. Selby is aware of the difficulties and uncertainties that surround a permanent solution. Owner of a cabin in the 21-cabin American Forks Summer Home and Water Association near Bumping Lake, Selby has to check the water-supply forecast each spring before he knows if he has to lug water to the family cabin he has owned since 1963. Or resurrect the old pit toilets that preceded running water that arrived in 1977. Solving the uncertainty with a permanent water transfer would be one less thing to worry about on top of trying to maintain an older cabin so far from his Kennewick home, he said. "You have all these things you have to plan for and take care of to keep it maintained," said the 76-year-old retired Battelle radiation safety professional. "If we can get rid of one irritation, it would be great." The Y's Romero said the annual issue of water would be a budget-buster for his organization. The Yakima Family YMCA rents its facilities throughout the year except for July and August, the Y's summer camp season. The seven-week Y camps provide half of the annual income. "Inadequate water supplies could wipe out spring rentals, summer camp sessions and fall rentals, forcing us to cover fixed camp expenses out of other YMCA programs," Romero said. "This could significantly impact YMCA operations." Camp Prime Time, a nonprofit that provides a camping experience for terminally ill children at Clear Lake as well as camps operated by the Boy Scouts, the First Presbyterian Church and others, are in the same boat. Location of water use and its rights history are key elements in determining whether a right is a candidate for sale. The year 1905 is key because the federal Bureau of Reclamation that year obtained rights to all the surface water that was then not being used, leaving nothing for anyone who came later. But rights were issued later to people like Selby and the Y camp, Camp Dudley, making their rights junior to that of the Yakima Irrigation Project, the three-county irrigation project that the Bureau of Reclamation operates. When the project needs the water, these more recent rights get shut off. That has happened three times since 2001. Temporary transfers of water engineered by Ecology have allowed continued use. But only for one year. Price is another issue. Sellers aren't certain what their water is worth because, unlike a commodity like real estate, no established market exists to gauge value. "Sellers are just as confused as buyers on what they want to sell their water for," said Collins, who is working on the program. The way Barwin puts it is the bank is open and has money but no one has deposited any water as yet. Trull said a sale would help the district raise more money for more conservation projects within the district and help the camps and cabins. Still to be sorted out are some of those confusing issues with water transfers, the possible impacts on users between where the water is now used and where its future use would occur. "We don't want to have any adverse impact on another diverter. We will wait to see how those things get sorted out. Then we will be in a better position to proceed," he said. No urgency exists for action this year because water supplies are more than adequate for every user, farmers and campers. There is, however, no certainty for next year or the year beyond. An ultimate agreement involving the district and the camps and cabins would solve their problems. But, Ecology's Collins said, it is only the start for a water bank to meet future needs. "There will always be a need for more water for people in the Yakima River Basin. It is the only way they are going to get it," Collins said of the banking concept.  * David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.   CHINOOK PASS -- Jack Selby of Kennewick may have the elusive, permanent answer he has been seeking for seven years. So may Bob Romero, general director of the Yakima Family YMCA, Selby's approximately 500 fellow priv City Desk, LOCAL

2008-07-10T21:50:06Z

by David Lester

2008-07-14T04:46:53Z

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2008-07-15T04:54:28Z

Summer camps seek solution to water rights question 5797 summer-camps-seek-solution-to-water-rights-question Web Story

Yakima Herald-Republic

2008-07-14T07:00:00Z

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07/14/08 BANKING ON WATER DL published Web Daily

YMCA, summer camps and cabin owners may see relief from drought-induced water shutoffs if a proposed water-rights sale goes through

2009-03-20T02:27:09Z