As a member of the Family Farm Alliance, I am pleased to see Congress take a long-term view of water needs and issues.
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather A. Wilson on April 10 announced that they are sponsoring legislation to authorize and expand the Water 2025 Challenge Grant Program. If successful, this legislation would ensure that the Challenge Grant program can continue to provide such benefits to willing partners in the West.
This program is intended to help local authorities enhance existing water supplies with projects that improve system monitoring and control improvements, create water banks and provide for installation of water-saving measures, all the while protecting irrigators' basic water rights. Using Water 2025 grants, Family Farm Alliance growers and water professionals from throughout the West have been able to make significant improvements in their water supply and distribution works.
The Domenici-Wilson legislation obviously represents an important step towards meeting growing Western water demands. However, we cannot provide water to meet the demand simply by conserving and improving our water use techniques.
This legislation should mark the start of moving forward with a new vision; a vision that includes new water supply projects that are environmentally sound, fiscally responsible and designed to meet the needs of our fast-growing Western population.
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Norm Haak
Oakes, N.D.
