Charter review panel moves to draft proposal for county 'water steward' to fill data gaps

Clallam County Charter Review Commission members voted March 27 to authorize Commissioner Paul Pickett to draft a problem statement and a proposed charter amendment recommending creation of a county water-resources information officer, often described in the meeting as a “water steward.” The commission said the position would focus on collecting and organizing countywide water data and making that information available to planners, utilities and the public.

The commission said the proposal responds to continuing data and coordination gaps across county agencies, declining groundwater levels reported in parts of the Dungeness Valley, uncertainty about how paper water rights match actual water availability, and climate-change impacts including reduced snowpack and lower summer streamflows. Commissioners also noted Clallam County no longer has an in-house hydrogeologist, a longtime source of continuity that has not been replaced.

Commissioner Paul Pickett moved to let him prepare the draft problem statement and a proposal to present to the Board of County Commissioners;…