February 26, 2001
Allen Powers
(208) 334-1455

"Bridging the Headgate"

Six federal, state, and local water agencies and organizations signed an historic partnership agreement this past week acknowledging the need to work together for the sustainable and efficient use of western agricultural water supplies. The "Bridging the Headgate" partnership was signed February 7, in Fort Worth, Texas.

In the West, a "headgate" can be thought of as the "agricultural faucet" through which farmers receive water from local water suppliers or districts. The overall intent of the "Bridging-the-Headgate" partnership is to encourage local irrigation and conservation districts, state water resource and conservation agencies, and federal field offices to find innovative ways to address water conservation and related issues, including water quality, drought preparedness, wetland development, endangered species recovery, and watershed restoration.

"This partnership will significantly increase collaboration among the federal, state, and local agencies and organizations dealing with agricultural conservation and other water-related issues in the West," stated Bill McDonald, Acting Commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation. "It is appropriate that leadership on this issue starts at the local level, with water and conservation districts working together in partnership with state and federal agencies," he concluded.

The "Bridging the Headgate" partnership was originally conceived in1998 as a joint agreement among the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the National Association of State Conservation Agencies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation. The purpose was to leverage the benefits of traditional "on-farm" and "off-farm" water conservation assistance throughout 17 western states. The National Water Resources Association, which represents local water districts, and Western States Water Council, which represents state water resource agencies, joined the partnership at the National Association of Conservation District’s annual convention held in Fort Worth in early February.

Seventy cooperative projects have been initiated throughout the 17 western states since the original partnership was initiated. A "Bridging the Headgate" workshop was held in Park City, Utah in July 2000 to celebrate successes to date and to invite the participation of the Western States Water Council and the National Water Resources Association.

Future activities in the broadened partnership include:

the establishment of a "Bridging the Headgate" steering committee to guide the development of an appropriate charter and action plan;

the establishment of interorganizational committee liaisons to network on western water resource issues;

an evaluation of potential organizational and programmatic "bridging" in such areas as water quality, wetland development, endangered species, and watershed restoration; and

the development of local "Bridging the Headgate" working groups