Probably the most critical environmental pressure today is to provide abundant, clean water for drinking water, growing food, and a healthy aquatic ecosystem.  Much focus has been placed on removing and preventing the pollution of our water--so that we can have clean water.  Now, for a look at the other side of that coin:  abundance, or, as it is technically called, instream flow.

There are three major categories of human water consumption:

Irrigation for growing food.  In Washington State, irrigation consumes some 7.3 billions gallons of water per day (74% of all water consumed).  Over 1.6 million acres (about 2500 square miles) are irrigated in the state, and produce over two billion dollars worth of food.

Municipalities and households consume about 1.4 billion gallons per day (15% of the total).  Most of this is drinking water, but some also goes to watering lawns, washing cars, water recreation (swimming pools, water slides, etc), bathing and laundry.

Industry consumes just less than 1 billion gallons of water per day (11% of the total).  That water supports an economy of more than $100 billion dollars.  For example, the hydropower industry produces some 80 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year with a value exceeding 1 billion dollars.  Sport fisherman contribute more than half a billion dollars to the state's economy, while commercial fisheries are valued at an additional $159 million.

However, in over one-half of the area of the state, the surface water supply has been overallocated (we have given more permits for withdrawing more water than there really is).

Source:  Extinction is not an Option, Washington State Salmon Recovery Office

Which category of use should have the highest priority for water??  The lowest?

And the really BIG question: how do you convince lower priority users to give up their water?  Can and how to you convince higher priority users to conserve their water?

*****Remember under Western Water Law, water is a property right and the state cannot take or acquire water without the owner's consent and proper compensation to the owner.  That's in the State Constiturion!!