WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Joint committee for drought preparedness can only meet after drought begins

Currently in Washington, the Department of Ecology is at the ready to establish a Joint Legislative Committee on Water Supply During Drought in the event of a water shortage. The point of the committee, which is comprised of four state senators and four representatives, is to allow the state to prepare for a drought.

The problem is that under current law the committee is not allowed to meet until a drought has been officially declared.

 Washington State Legislative SupRep. Derek Stanford (D – Bothell) introduced a new bill yesterday that would simplify this process, allowing the joint committee to meet when a drought is forecasted and develop contingency plans. House Bill 1836 would also allow the committee to make loans and grants from emergency agricultural water supply funds so communities could prepare for an oncoming drought.

“Allowing the legislative committee to meet when a drought is forecasted will make a lot of difference in our preparedness to face water shortages,” Stanford said. “It makes it fairly difficult to prepare for a drought when the committee is unable to meet until after a drought has already been declared. This bill will allow us to plan rather than react.”