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A brief history of the Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control (RSBOJC)
The Roza-Sunnyside Board of Joint Control (RSBOJC) is an umbrella organization designed to administer joint projects of the Roza Irrigation District (RID) and the Sunnyside Division (SD). The RSBOJC, comprised of Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District (SVID) and RID Board members, enables both entities to work cooperatively to develop joint plans that address shared issues such as water quality and conservation.
The driving force which led to the creation of the RSBOJC was water conservation and quantity, due in part to the 1994 drought. With the Department of Ecology's evaluation of the lower Yakima River in 1997 and enforcement of the Clean Water Act, considerable attention has been focused on water quality issues.
In 1997, the Washington State Department of Ecology set a 90th percentile (90% of measurements taken) Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) target of 25 NTU by the year 2002 for all return flows to the lower Yakima River.
In response, the RSBOJC adopted a comprehensive Water Quality Policy designed to promote agricultural and irrigation practices that decrease pollution and water use while increasing water quality and conservation. Since the RSBOJC Water Quality Policy was enacted in 1997, remarkable progress has been made in the water quality of return flows to the Yakima River. Click here to see the progress our farmers have made.
Although in recent years water quality issues have stolen some of the thunder of the RSBOJC's conservation programs, the 2001 drought has sparked renewed interest in water supply and conservation policy. Visit the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance at www.ybsa.org for more drought and storage information.
An integral part of the RSBOJC's success is landowner involvement. Every couple months the RSBOJC Workgroup meeting is held. In attendance are landowners, irrigators, state and federal agencies, and other interested parties. This dynamic group is the think tank of the RSBOJC, forging policy and determining direction.
Click here more information about the RSBOJC Water Quality Policy. |
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