Finding water solutions for families, fish, and farms
In the Walla Walla River Basin, there is not always enough water available to meet the needs of our local communities, Tribes, farms, and aquatic ecosystems. The Walla Walla Basin Watershed Strategy (“Walla Walla 2050”) is a collaborative effort of people working together to meet the Basin’s growing water needs and provide water for healthy rivers, fish, farms, and people. The Watershed Strategy is hosting an Open House on Thursday, October 10, from 4:30 – 7:30 PM, in the Reid Campus Center Ballroom at Whitman College. You’re invited to come learn about water challenges in the Basin and what Walla Walla 2050 is doing to address these issues! The Open House is open to all ages, and will have stations to explore, a welcome from the Umatilla Tribes, and a series of presentations from local water experts (presentations will be from 5:00 – 7:00 PM). Light refreshments will be served. Questions? Contact alexandra@cascadiaconsulting.com.
A 30-year effort in the Walla Walla watershed
Together, we’re working to answer the decades-long challenge of meeting the basin's growing water needs for today, tomorrow, and beyond. A partnership between the states of Oregon and Washington, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and community members on both sides of the state border are working to identify and achieve water solutions.
WATERSHED QUICK FACTS
-
The name “Walla Walla” originates from the Sahaptin language spoken by the Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla Tribes, whose homeland includes the basin. The name means “place of many small streams.” This refers to the vast spring and distributary network that once characterized the basin’s waterways as they left the Blue Mountains and spread out across the alluvial sediments deposited in the Valley by the Missoula Floods.
-
The watershed covers an area of approximately 1,760 square miles in southeastern Washington state and northeastern Oregon.
-
Roughly 63,440 live within the boundaries of the Walla Walla watershed.
-
Historical accounts indicate that several species utilized the basin but are now extinct. Fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and chum salmon (O. keta) once used the lower Walla Walla River for spawning, and coho salmon (O. kisutch) were present at some level. Spring Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) historically spawned in the upper reaches of the watershed, but the last significant run was observed in 1925. The species is considered extirpated today, but reintroduction efforts are underway. Summer steelhead and bull trout still persist, but both are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
-
Walla Walla’s economy has a diverse composition, with agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and government (educational) services together providing over 71% of total employment. Agriculture is the fourth-largest industry in the area by employment and is growing by about 0.9% annually. Tourism continues to drive growth in the area, particularly as related to the wine industry, and the basin is currently home to nearly 200 wineries (https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/county-profiles/walla-walla).
3 Walla at diversion (photo by Dept. of Eco.)
Basin Volunteer Event (photo by WWBWC CHE)
Irrigated grapes (photo by Dept. of Eco.)