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A recent survey conducted by land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest indicate that over 90 percent of residents consider clean drinking water, clean rivers, and clean groundwater as high priority issues. An additional 84 percent of survey respondents indicate that having enough water for agriculture is high priority despite the fact that over 80 percent of Pacific Northwest residents live in urban areas. Over two-thirds of Pacific Northwest residents indicate that water for power generation, water for economic development, wetland protection, prevention of salmon extinction, and watershed restoration are also high priority issues. The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (at the University of Idaho) is dedicated to supporting and promoting water and water-related applied investigations and solutions, education, and information transfer throughout Idaho. IWRRI collaborates with more than 100 scientists and educators from all of the Idaho state universities in order to provide a broad-based, diverse, and interdisciplinary effort in helping to solve water issues. This is extremely important because Idaho's problems are complex. Our state is fortunate because Idaho's leaders in water resources and the state community have recognized the importance of protecting this finite resource. Water is undeniably one of the most important natural resources found in the western United States. It is fundamental to the survival of our native flora and fauna and the survival of our own species as well. Here in the West, water laws have evolved in a climate of scarcity which has made friendly neighbors bitter enemies, caused the desert to bloom, and caused the demise of many a fishery, including some of the largest salmon runs in the world. Because water rights have historically protected users not rivers, it is important for river conservation efforts to focus on ways to put water back into our river systems. Under current western law, water rights can be issued to anyone who is putting the water to a “beneficial use.” “Beneficial uses” include human consumption, irrigation, and hydropower. In some Northwest states, “beneficial use” does not include the preservation of streamflow, which benefits fisheries, wildlife and riparian corridors of significant biological diversity. Water rights are transferable and can be bought, sold, or leased. Western water rights have a requirement that is referred to as “use it or lose it,” which mandates that appropriated water must be used or it will be considered abandoned and the water right can be lost permanently. Under this system, water users such as farmers, are not encouraged to conserve water. Some water rights holders have been persuaded to temporarily transfer their water rights to instream flow (for example under contract with Oregon Water Trust) in order to avoid permanent loss of their water right when faced with the “use it or lose it” policy, where water right holders must use their right or sell/lose it to another user.

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/ University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.htm Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Charlotte Clausing: 360-392-4319 cclausing@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	The Project Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Our Goal and Approach The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs. Our Strengths The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration; and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.
	The Pacific Northwest land grant universities have a long history of curricula and research in resource management and economic issues, including water policy and water economics. These issues interface with programs in agriculture, wildlife and fisheries, soil conservation, forestry, sociology, land use policy, and urban development. Many Extension educators include water policy and economics in workshop content. Desired Outcomes Increased in-stream flow supports habitat protection and restoration efforts Landowners and managers who practice water conservation are rewarded by improved water policy Water users recognize the economic value of water The public has increased knowledge of all sides of issues related to water policy and economics IDAHO Contacts Murat Isik, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Moscow, 208-885-7214, misik@uidaho.edu OREGON Contacts William K. Jaeger, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Corvallis, 541-737-1419, wjaeger@oregonstate.edu WASHINGTON Contacts Ray Huffaker, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Pullman, 509-335-3048, huffaker@wsu.edu
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No 2008-51130-4734.

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HOME | About | Calendar | Contacts | Links | PNW Water Updates | Sitemap NIFA National Water Quality Program This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734. all external sites will open in a new browser window page last modified on August 27, 2006