Prepared Remarks of King County Executive Ron Sims, Cascade Water Alliance Annual Meeting

Feb. 8, 2005

Prepared Remarks of King County Executive Ron Sims
Cascade Water Alliance Annual Meeting
Feb. 8, 2005
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue

Thank you for inviting me here today. I am honored to recognize the commitment of the Cascade Water Alliance to address our region's water supply needs.

Some 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard's Almanac: "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."

Today we celebrate a milestone toward our common interest of truly understanding the "worth of water" - and for doing it long before that well runs dry. Today, we affirm our commitment to collaborate with the Cascade Water Alliance and develop a countywide Water Supply Plan that will answer the needs of both people and the environment, and to complete that plan by December of 2007.

We are confident we can achieve this, because we've already seen what can happen when cities, utilities, tribes, businesses and community groups work together.

Just a few days ago, I spoke at the Shared Strategy Summit for Puget Sound. King County is one of the eight founders that in 2000 committed to engaging a broad array of stakeholders to build a practical, cost-effective salmon recovery plan endorsed by the people living and working in the watersheds of Puget Sound.

In truth, our commitment to work together on salmon really isn't a choice. It is our obligation. The Summit symbolized a long-term collaborative investment in our environmental future that we - as a society - owe our children, our grandchildren, and the generations that follow.

Like salmon recovery, the journey to solving the region's water supply problems cannot be accomplished by King County, or by the Cascade Water Alliance alone. We must be in this together.

Our region faces serious challenges in meeting water needs for people and for fish with the currently available resources. Twenty years from now, another 300,000 people will be living in King County. With our population climbing steadily, the 2001 Central Puget Sound Regional Water Supply Outlook concludes that by 2020 existing supplies will not be enough to meet the forecasted demands. And the population will continue to grow.

These demands on our water resources come at a time when our region is also working to recover threatened fish species. Part of the ongoing regional discussion must focus on instream flows - the amount of water needed to allow continued viability of all living species that rely on our rivers, lakes and wetlands, including salmon.

Perhaps most alarming, these demands on water come as University of Washington scientists project that global warming could reduce snow pack in the Cascade Mountains - our region's natural water supply storage system - by 50 percent within our children's lifetime. If this holds true, the bare ski slopes we've seen this winter will be the rule rather than the exception.

Make no mistake, the effects of global warming will go far beyond ski seasons. They will impact our entire ecosystem. The current models forecast major challenges to the maintenance of existing water supplies; they predict an increase in the size and frequency of floods, and more difficulty maintaining instream flows at critical times for fish.

Indeed, it is quite possible that this winter's heavy flooding, negligible snowpack, and predictions of a dry summer - is just a foreshadowing of our future water conditions. This is why entering into partnerships is critical to helping us prepare and plan.

As I have said many times, the sustainable economic growth and environmental well-being of our region depends on making the proper resource management decisions today. That is why I am proud that King County will today endorse a Memorandum of Understanding with Cascade Water Alliance, a proven regional leader in progressive water resource management.

With this MOU, King County and Cascade are committing to develop a secure and stable water resource management strategy for the benefit of current and future residents of our county. This process will include:

Clearly defining our region's long-term water needs - both instream and out of stream - factoring in all the very best water conservation practices;
Prioritizing future water supplies to meet such needs, including alternative sources such as reclaimed water. This drought-proof source will be available in large quantities from our Brightwater treatment plant, starting in 2010;
Identifying new water supplies and infrastructure needs, and defining who is responsible for making them happen; and
Establishing policy guidelines for processing water rights applications and for other water resource management decisions at the state and federal levels.

I recognize that Cascade and its members are committed to developing a new regional source of supply. I commend you for your investment in the technical, legal, political and planning effort to create real alternatives for the future. Your creative efforts have elevated the understanding of fish and water supply needs for the region, generated frank discussions that should have occurred long ago, and led to a lot of fresh thinking. As a region, we are indebted to you for all of this.

As you know, I have always held the view that a regional planning should precede any major investments in future supply sources. I am grateful to Cascade for opening the door to the collaborative effort envisioned in the MOU. I am confident it will lead to management decisions that are in the best interest of the people we serve.

For thousands of years this region has been organized around its water system. Today there are a lot more people, but the principle of working together to produce what is best for all remains constant. When we work together to incorporate the best science into law and ultimately into effective public policy, then we are working in the right direction to protect our water and land, and preserve our quality of life in the region.

This agreement we sign today is a creative, flexible approach to continuous improvements in our region's water quality. By signing this MOU, we are responding in unison to the complex challenges of changing climates, declining water reserves and increasing consumption.

But signing the MOU is just a first step. We still have a long way to go. We will need the continued involvement of elected officials, water utilities, public health and planning agencies, the state, and our tribal governments to shape and direct this comprehensive water resource management plan.

I am already encouraged by the initial response from the Muckleshoot Tribe and so many others who have generously offered their technical support.

There is a new bestselling book out, titled "Collapse," by Jared Diamond. It documents the decline and disappearance of several advanced civilizations - including the Maya in Central America, the indigenous people of Easter Island, and the Norse colonies of Greenland. The book outlines common elements contributing to the collapse of those civilizations, including the obliteration of forest and water resources. These conditions, combined with the inability or unwillingness to respond to obvious environmental clues - that all was not well - sent these civilizations on a downward spiral. Diamond's point is that civilizations that are unable to look beyond narrow self-interest or petty rivalries, to the conditions all around them, can end up suffering the ultimate consequence.

I think we are facing such a moment now, perhaps on a global scale.

A lot of other people think this, too. A column in the Sunday P-I by UW professor Peter Ward made a similar observation that if we do not respond to our environmental condition in a logical, collaborate manner, we may be facing the same kind of collapse.

At the national level, as is too often the case, there is a reluctance to face such issues. But the fact is, we here in this room are better equipped. We live with the problem and understand it. That is why we at the state, regional, and local level, must agree to engage on the issue of water management, and to commit right here to do what needs to be done.

Five years ago, I stood before you and outlined what I felt King County needed to do to initiate a process to address our impending water challenges. Today, we meet to take another step.

I know that the Cascade Water Alliance, in developing this MOU, has committed itself to a take the better path as stewards of our precious water resources. To "know the worth of water" long before the well runs dry.

On behalf of King County, I am pleased to walk with you on this path. And I want to thank Cascade, your staff, and all your members for the work and the vision embodied in this agreement towards a better water resource future for our region.

Thank you.