The Olympian story of October 13th titled
Quietly and efficiently, leaders make strides on water rights
misses the mark in so many ways.

The article seems to give a “pat-on-the-back” to this area’s leaders in their quest for water rights, rather than examining the long-term costs to the public and resources if these water rights are issued.

While Ecology’s main role in cities’ water issues has been enforcement of water rights and preservation of the aquifer, the posturing by Ecology to even consider more than doubling Yelm’s water rights, as an example, is troubling. In the last few years, the state budget cutbacks and recent Ecology leadership changes seem to indicate Ecology acquiesces on their main job – enforcement of water rights and preservation of the aquifer.

Read more from JZ Knight’s comments last month to Ecology about the inadequacies in the City of Yelm’s application for doubling their water rights.