Protect Lake Tapps and its stakeholders

It is difficult to put a price on quality of life. As we enter difficult economic times and increased pressures, opportunities for families to enjoy parks and outdoor recreational resources become even more precious.

Unfortunately, the quality of life for thousands of families was not taken into consideration when the Cascade Water Alliance in Bellevue negotiated a closed-door deal with the Puyallup and Muckleshoot tribes over the future of Lake Tapps in North Pierce County.

Lake Tapps is the third-busiest lake for recreational use in the state, with two public parks and eight private parks along the shoreline. One of the parks at Lake Tapps gets 150,000 to 250,000 visits each year. The lake is also central to a highly valued and delicate ecosystem, providing habitat for eagles, ospreys, pileated woodpeckers, several types of fish and other wildlife, and significant wetlands.

All of these things were ignored when an entire region and its communities were shut out from the negotiations.

Fair and equitable negotiations on how to manage our water resources need to include all of the stakeholders. That was the case when the Lake Tapps Reservoir Management Agreement was signed by Puget Sound Energy, the Pierce County executive and members of the Lake Tapps community in 2004. All the stakeholders were invited to participate in the negotiations, including the tribes and Cascade Water Alliance. This agreement has been very successful and has led to a thriving lake, healthy habitat, reliable water for several cities and an increase in salmon.

We have not been given any reasonable explanation for why the new owners of Lake Tapps — Cascade Water Alliance — refuse to honor an agreement that worked well for Puget Sound Energy, the community and the fish.

With tremendous bipartisan leadership from state Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, and Pierce County Councilman Shawn Bunney, we have taken our case to the Washington State Department of Ecology, the agency responsible for approving water rights in our state. Hundreds of individuals have written to the department and the governor asking them to protect Lake Tapps and take a balanced approach to managing all of the region's water needs. The department is required by law to consider public interest when issuing a water right.

The state agency has already proposed standards for a water right that would require compromises from all parties involved. It is not perfect but it's a balanced beginning.

Sound science and careful assessment of the facts should be the deciding factors in how this water right gets issued, not a closed-door deal driven by politics, paybacks and special interests.

We believe it is possible to have a water right that protects all interests involved — fish, tribes, water for Bellevue and a lake that is a regional treasure and precious natural resource for our state and communities.

Those of us in Pierce County look forward to working with Cascade Water Alliance to maintain a healthy lake, ecosystem and water supply, but there is a lot more that needs to be resolved before anyone celebrates a water deal done behind closed doors.

Chuck Romeo is president of the Lake Tapps Community Council, a nonprofit organization working to preserve and protect Lake Tapps.