Technical Work

The water resources are critical to supporting the ecosystem of these basins including maintenance of habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife. The water resources are also used for many other purposes including drinking water for people, operations of businesses, quality of life, and economic development. Managing the water resources involves making policy decisions that reflect the values of society on the best allocation of the water resources, and managing their use to minimize impacts on the natural ecosystem. These decisions will form the watershed plan.

In order make water resource management decisions, the physical dynamics of the watershed needs to be understood, which is accomplished through technical studies. Every state-sponsored watershed planning effort conducts a Level 1 Assessment in which the existing information is compiled for use by stakeholders, to identify any gaps that may inhibit the development of a good watershed plan, and to form the basis of decisions. The Spokane area is rich in water resource data, and the Planning Unit decided to proceed with additional focused studies including development of an integrated physical model of the watershed and assessment of instream flows in the Little Spokane River.