Promoting the long view of water conservation

E-mail this article Print this article

As drought grips the Northwest, Washington residents are awakening to the need for increased education and research about ways to conserve water and other scarce resources in the region. To address this need, the Friends of the Cedar River Watershed and the city of Seattle are working hard to bring a new environmental education center to the Puget Sound region.

Soon youth and adults alike will learn to give back to the watershed that has supplied the greater Seattle area with drinking water throughout the 20th century - and continues to this day - by learning how the watershed functions and how to conserve this valuable resource.

As our region faces its worst drought in almost a quarter century, the situation is compounded by competing uses of water; hydroelectric dams, salmon, agriculture, barge traffic, recreation and other uses all vie with households for this precious substance. While the Pacific Northwest enjoys a good reputation for environmental stewardship, the coming summer will put us to the test. Conservation is no longer just a nice sentiment, but a necessity.

It also will not be enough to scrape by this year and hope for more plentiful rain next winter and spring. As a community, we must continue to embrace conservation - borrowing only what we need from our environment instead of whatever we want.

This change will not come overnight, or even over the next year, though we will learn a few lessons. This kind of change requires a shift in public thinking, beginning with education. Seattle's next generation of decision-makers must also put conservation at the forefront of their social and political agenda.

For King County residents, environmental education begins with the Cedar River watershed. This year marks the centennial of the Cedar River watershed - 100 years of clean drinking water delivered to the citizens of King County. The Cedar River watershed, a 90,500-acre preserve in the Cascade foothills, supplies 66 percent of the drinking water for 1.25 million King County residents and businesses. It is closed to unauthorized access to ensure a clean water supply and to protect the watershed's rich biodiversity, including some endangered species.

The watershed's history shows that we are on the right track with conservation. The first drinking water from Cedar River was delivered in 1901, but it wasn't until 1989 that the watershed was officially closed to development. In 1996, a historic land exchange gave Seattle sole ownership of all lands in the watershed. Friends of the Cedar River Watershed was formed that same year to build a private constituency for the protection and enhancement of the watershed.

Most recently, this group has focused on long-term care of the watershed through education. To mark the watershed's centennial, the city of Seattle and the Friends will open the Cedar River Watershed Education Center in September. The Center will deliver the conservation-based education needed to ensure that the right choices are made by future generations about our precious natural resources.

The Cedar River Watershed Education Center will provide environmental education to 30,000 schoolchildren annually. It will also be a year-round destination for families, corporate groups and scientists. Interpretive exhibits inside and beautiful landscaping outside will mirror the lush biodiversity of the watershed.

In addition, an on-site research library will honor the region's cultural heritage, documenting and displaying the collected artifacts from 9,400 years of human activity in the watershed.

The Cedar River Watershed Education Center's embrace of a conservation ethic not only will be evident through educational programs and exhibits, but also by its very design and construction. Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects have developed the project to demonstrate principles of ecologically sustainable design. Building materials have been selected for their durability, longevity and fit with the beautiful natural landscape. Wherever possible, the center is being constructed using certified wood - lumber that has been harvested from well-managed forests.

In times like these, when we are forced to examine our use of the natural resources that surround us, the value of a facility such as the Cedar River Watershed Education Center cannot be overstated. The center is more than just an educational asset: It is the key to a viable future for the residents of King County.

Join us as we celebrate 100 years of clean and abundant drinking water; and help us dedicate the next century to our children who will learn the importance, indeed the necessity, of water conservation.

Margaret Pageler is president of the Seattle City Council; former Gov. Dan Evans is chair of the Community Campaign for the Cedar River Watershed Education Center Capital Campaign.

For more information about the Cedar River Watershed Education Center Capital Campaign, call 206-297-8141, or visit www.cedarriver.org.