Senator Murray: Our Water Resources Are Too Critical to Shortchange or Take for Granted

"Defense spending tends to get a lot of attention, but we cannot forget that our rivers and our waterways are some of the most critical resources we have. Effective water management is essential to keeping our families healthy, our environment thriving, and our economy competitive.

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We use our water resources managed by the Bureau and Corps to irrigate crops that feed families across the country, to transport those crops--and other goods--along our rivers and out of our ports to consumers around the world, and to provide habitat for keystone species that are essential to local economies and ecosystems alike--like salmon in my home state of Washington. We even count on water--and hydroelectric power--to literally keep the lights on in cities across the country. So when it comes to our nation's competitiveness--this is something we can't take for granted.

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We're all thankful, of course, this year for a much-needed rain and snow, and as you and I have talked about, one wet season does not counter the driest 23-year period ever recorded in that basin. We do need long-term solutions to effectively manage that water and adjust for the impacts of climate change,"

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