1. Mid-Coast Water Planning Partnership
Backdrop to introducing (Tim) as a co-convener for the MCWPP.

2. Recap - What we did in Steps 1 and 2
Who’s been involved?
Partnership – 207 on list, 340 contacted, 150 active
Partners – 60+ signed Charter
8 Partnership meetings – 50 avg.
8 Study Group meetings – avg. attendance 12 ea
6 C/O Meetings – avg. 10 ea
18 Coordinating Committee Meetings – avg. 10 ea.
What did we accomplish?
Governance structure – Charter, MVV
Communication & Outreach Plan
Technical Reports – Quantity, Quality, Ecology, Built Systems, Context
Common baseline understanding of water resources in Mid Coast
Collaborative relationships
Shared technical info., resources, assistance amongst Partners
Secured grant funding
Established web page to keep everyone informed
Engaged cross section of the region – over 150 active 65 signed charter
Created a governance structure
Small coordinating committee that meets monthly to keep process moving
Larger Partnership meetings are held at least quarterly – this is where decision making occurs

3. Key Take Away Step 1: Defined our Purpose and Developed a Charter
Partnership Mission The purpose of the Mid-Coast Water Planning Partnership is to Develop an inclusive community forum which examines water use in the region, identifies current and potential water challenges, and creates a unified plan to balance water needs.
Key Take aways
Mission, Vision, Charter help us to stay focused
What helped build collaborative -
Creating Charter together – in the words of the people
Consistently transparent communication, (i.e. website, blasts, meetings)
Biggest benedfit - building relationships through meetings, events, field trips, sharing meals – Getting to know each other as people and understanding each other’s interests and challenges
People who are typically adversaries are now gaining an understanding of each other’s needs

4. Key Take-Aways Steps 2 - 3 Study Groups gathered baseline Info
Steps key elements were effective in characterizing our water resources – Study Groups and Field Tours.
Study Groups Held 8 study group meetings -Picked over 50 brains
Read, reviewed and synthesized 4,328 tons of information
Resulting in 5 reports’ (posted on the website) that serve as baseline information to characterize water resources.
Simultaneously, in step 2 we held 3 field trips – which was a highlight in not only educating ourselves but in building collaborative relationships
Study Groups gathered baseline Info
to characterize water resources

5. Conducted ‘Field Tours’ to Inform and Build the Collaborative
Field Tour 1: Salmon / Schooner Creek
Field Tour 2: Siletz River
Conducted 3 Field Tours
Going into the field TOGETHER has helped to bridge our differences and build appreciation for each other’s accomplishments & challenges
Panther Creek Water District
Big Creek Dam

6. Field Tour 3 – Education and Building Relationships
Field Tour 3: South Mid-Coast – Seal Rock to Yachats
People come to the Partnership with their view of ‘how it is’
Field trips help us to understand much broader perspectives. That there are many aspects of this problem that we are trying to solve.
(Tim could tell the story about Joyce coming around at lunch during the last FT).

7. Key Basin Strategies/Actions
Key Basin Issues
Key Basin Features
Aging infrastructure (pipelines, reservoirs, pump stations, water and wastewater treatment facilities), few interconnections, and limited financial capacity for infrastructure improvements
Siletz River health: water supply for SRWD, City of Toledo, City of Newport, and GP Mill; supports summer steelhead population
Supply vulnerabilities for water providers (e.g. low summer streamflow; watershed health)
Water quality impaired streams listed by Department of Environmental Quality for over 500 miles
Instream flow deficits identified by ODFW and OWRD for several streams. Schooner Creek, Drift Creek, Yachats River rated highest priority
Habitat degradation, including stream channel simplification and incision, altered streamflow timing and watershed function, turbidity related to peak streamflow.
Listed species under the Endangered Species Act –Coastal Coho and Green Sturgeon listed as “threatened” along with several species of concern
Human and ecosystem resiliency to changes in supply and demand, drought
and natural disasters.
Limited population growth. Overall population is approximately 50,000. Population will grow ~10,000 in the next 40 years, but rate of population growth is expected to decline. Projected demographic shift towards older population.
Land use is primarily forest owned by private state, and federal (96.5%). Other land uses include livestock grazing, rural residential development, and urban development.
Basin economy is made up of personal income, pensions, and investments, tourism, and natural resources (commercial fishing, 40%; tourism, 33%; timber, 26%; and to a lesser extent agriculture, 1%)
Stream flows are rain-dominated. Most precipitation occurs November-March with dry conditions in the summer. Groundwater aquifers have low yield and poor storage capacity.
52 potable water providers, 31 of which are required to have certified water treatment plant operators
14 entities with wastewater discharge permits (cities, resorts/hotels, and industries).
7 “Conservation Opportunity Areas” and 42 streams with existing instream water rights
6 Major Estuaries: Salmon River, Siletz Bay, Yaquina Bay, Beaver Creek, Alsea Bay, and Yachats River Estuary
Key Basin Strategies/Actions
Mid Coast is different from other pilot studies.
We have many different watersheds and tributaries, which makes it complex.
By end of step 2, we had identified 8 key watersheds to focus our study on.
Planning Partnership will develop strategies throughout Steps 3 and 4
System improvements (e.g. automatic meter reading, pipeline replacements, septic, supply interconnections)
Restoration projects (e.g. in-channel, riparian, invasive species removal, estuary dike removal, fish barrier removal, road improvements)
Water quality monitoring (USGS, watershed councils, Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District, Surfrider Foundation, cities, DEQ, ODA, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Weyerhaeuser, EPA)

8. Launched Step 3 in February
Identify CURRENT & FUTURE NEEDS
Formed 3 Work Groups –
In Stream / Ecology
Municipal & Water District Supplied
Self Supplied
COLLABORATION is key for success
We are now in step 3 of the process.
We decided to combine step 3 (current needs) with step 4 (future needs) Working groups have formed and are now locally led.
I think we can end it here?

9. Thanks . . . and keep in touch! www.midcoastwaterpartners.com
Thanks and you can go to our website to see, agendas, meeting minutes, reports, maps, tools and more…..
Field Tour – Gibson Farms