Associated Press - November 24, 2009 12:55 PM ET
KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - The Washington Ecology Department is trying to find a way to allow farmers who conserve water to use part of it to irrigate new land.
Under state law, water rights currently are tied to a specific piece of land.
The Tri-City Herald reports the program would be similar to one already proposed by the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association, but the group wants the new program open to farmers who may have adopted conservation practices in the past.
The state says it wouldn't be legal to apply the proposal retrospectively.
The director of Ecology's Columbia River office, Derek Sandison, says farmers could lose the rights to water they haven't been using.
Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com
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