Protect Lake Tapps and its stakeholders
It is difficult to compel a price on quality of life. As we enter difficult economic spells and increased pressures, opportunities for families to enjoy parks and outdoor recreational resources become even more precious.
Unfortunately, the quality of time from birth to death on the side of thousands of families was not taken into consideration when the Cascade Water Alliance in Bellevue negotiated a closed-door deal by the Puyallup and Muckleshoot tribes over the future of Lake Tapps in North Pierce County.
Lake Tapps is the third-busiest lake for recreational use in the state, with two public parks and eight private parks beside the shoreline. One of the parks at Lake Tapps gets 150,000 to 250,000 visits each year. The lake is also central to a highly valued and delicate ecosystem, providing habitat with respect to eagles, ospreys, pileated woodpeckers, several types of fish and other wildlife, and significant wetlands.
All of these things were ignored when an entire region and its communities were shut out from the negotiations.
Fair and equitable negotiations on how to horsemanship our water resources need to contain all of the stakeholders. That was the case when the Lake Tapps Reservoir Management Agreement was signed by Puget Sound Energy, the Pierce County executive and members of the Lake Tapps common in 2004. All the stakeholders were invited to participate in the negotiations, including the tribes and Cascade Water Alliance. This agreement has been very successful and has led to a flourishing lake, healthy area of distribution, reliable water for diverse cities and one enlarge in salmon.
We have not been given any reasonable explanation for why the new owners of Lake Tapps — Cascade Water Alliance — refuse to honor an agreement that worked hearty for Puget Sound Energy, the community and the seek by indirection.
With awful bipartisan leadership from affirm Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, and Pierce County Councilman Shawn Bunney, we have taken our case to the Washington State Department of Ecology, the agency responsible by regard to approving water rights in our state. Hundreds of individuals have written to the province and the manager asking them to protect Lake Tapps and take a balanced approach to managing the whole of of the region’s get moisten needs. The sphere of duty is required by regulation to consider public touch when issuing a water right.
The state agency has already proposed standards for a water right that would require compromises from all parties involved. It is not perfect but it’s a balanced beginning.
Sound science and careful assessment of the facts should be the deciding factors in how this water right gets issued, not a closed-door give driven by politics, paybacks and special interests.
We believe it is likely to have a moisten right that protects all interests involved — fish, tribes, water for Bellevue and a lake that is a regional treasure and very estimable natural resource for our state and communities.
Those of us in Pierce County look forward to working with Cascade Water Alliance to maintain a healthy lake, ecosystem and water supply, but there is a portion more that necessarily to be resolved under the jurisdiction anyone celebrates a water deal done behind closed doors.
Chuck Romeo is president of the Lake Tapps Community Council, a nonprofit organization working to preserve and protect Lake Tapps.
