The Methow Watershed Council is hosting a panel presentation and discussion on the Economics of Water on October 16, 2023. The event will be held in person at the Winthrop Library Community Room and via Zoom at 6:00PM (doors open at 5:30). The panel members’ presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer opportunity.

Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89694591088?pwd=c2JTN21wcE9sVVZLN3VaYk5VWEJQdz09

Meeting ID: 896 9459 1088 Passcode: 225889

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The panel members will discuss the following:

How Markets Can Address Water Needs - Joe Cook, Professor in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. 

Joe specializes in environmental and natural resource economics with a particular focus on water and water policy, including in low- and middle-income countries. He is co-PI on a 5-year USDA-funded grant on water markets in Washington State. He will provide a high-level overview of the growing scarcity of water in the West, the economic logic of using markets for water rights in reducing the damage from drought, and results from a 2020 survey of irrigators in four basins, including the Methow.

Brief History of Water Rights and Water Banking - Kelsey Collins, Trust, Transfers, and Water Banking Specialist with the Department of Ecology’s Water Resources Program. 

Kelsey has been with Water Resources for 21 years, working with Trust Water Rights for the last 15 years. Since 2019, Kelsey has been tackling statewide water policy issues and responding to legislative requests regarding water banking. Kelsey has also served as the program’s water right acquisitions lead for 13 years, with duties that include negotiating water right purchases, leases, and water banking agreements. 

The Significance of Water Right Attributes - Tyson D. Carlson, LHG, CWRE, is a Principal Hydrogeologist with Aspect Consulting. 

Working from the Yakima office, Tyson's strengths lie in evaluating hydrogeologic systems, developing regional and site-specific hydrogeologic conceptual models, and permitting water resources. Tyson has completed projects for public, private, and NGOs in support of numerous water right assessments and acquisitions. He has been the lead water right investigator on decisions for both new appropriations and transfer/change of existing rights, including use of the State’s Trust Water Right Program (TWRP) for purposes of instream flow, habitat, and mitigation through water banking. 

Water Appraisals…How Do They Work? - Daniel R. Haller, PE, CWRE, is a Principal Water Resources Engineer at Aspect Consulting LLC. 

Daniel is a state-recognized water rights expert, and his background includes management of storage and conservation projects, water banking and water rights transfers, and water system design and financial planning experience. Before joining Aspect in 2012, Mr. Haller spent more than a decade with the Department of Ecology where he worked on hundreds of water rights and managed multi-million-dollar grant projects for the Office of Columbia River.

Please go to www.methowwatershed.com for more information. 

Contact, Sarah Lane (MWC Administrator) at methowwatershed@gmail.com