Water Resource Planning: Prepare - Or Take Our Chances?

Electricity and water are essential resources in our society. But the way we efficiently plan for our electricity needs is vastly different from how poorly we plan for our water [...]

An Engineer Looks at Washington State Water Law

State water law is a complicated mess, a piece-by-piece accumulation and accretion of disparate laws since 1917. Worse, these laws confound solutions to the problems we face today in managing an [...]

Water, Water Everywhere, But ...

Although we get lots of rain and snow in the winter, Whatcom County faces serious water-supply issues during the summer months. Here are the key issues I see and what [...]

"Hi David, Thanks for your insightful comments. I agree that unpermitted water use in the agricultural sector is a big problem, perhaps 40% of total irrigation water use in Whatcom County. [...]

"John, Congratulations on turning 77 and deciding to begin a well deserved retirement.  Although I often disagree with the stories and/or comments published in NW Citizen, I very much [...]

"Elisabeth, thanks for your helpful comments on my article. We likely both believe that salmon are doing poorly because of many factors, some involving ocean conditions and others involving their [...]

"I agree with Greg’s comments. As he notes, we have allocated more water for human, out-of-stream uses than is actually available. Therefore, salmon, other fish and the environment in [...]

"I agree"that it is impossible to make definitive statements about who is or is not using water illegally, until we have accurate data.” But there are no plans, at [...]