To all of my Skagit friends: I have it on good authority that Skagit River water will stay in Skagit county. . 

To everyone else: This may sound bizarre, but ten or more years ago, one of the rumors circulating around Skagit county was that Angelinos were plotting to take the water of the Skagit River to feed the swimming pools of southern California. At that time, the county had put restrictions on new wells in rural parts of the county, tribes were pressuring the state and the county to deal with pollution and culverts that were hindering salmon recovery efforts, and the topic of water was seeping into every conversation.

Then we moved, and I didn’t hear much more about the efforts to take water south to LA. Until today. It’s remarkable how a topic can sit untouched in my brain for a decade or more, then come roaring back to the surface in a second, but that’s just what happened. I was listening to a deluge of information about tribal business ventures, all of which was new to me. And then the speaker began discussing his talks with people about new-fangled tunnel boring machinery. One potential use for this better, cheaper machinery might be to move water long distances from where it is abundant to where it is scarce, such as from the rainy northwest to ever-thirsty southern California. My ears might have doubled in size in that exact moment. Say what?

I raised my hand and asked what the tribes along the Skagit River watershed would think of this idea given their ongoing concerns about water for salmon. The speaker calmly answered that they were not yet enthused, but that Skagit county also had agricultural areas that might get by on less water. Say what? Were people actually talking about taking water from Skagit delta agriculture for this project. Well, maybe not. 

After the program, I got a moment to double check what I’d heard, and the speaker said he didn’t think anyone in Skagit country, either tribes or ag folks had any interest in this project. He added that there are estuaries around the Salish Sea where the mix of fresh water and salt water is changing, and people are looking at ways to reduce the amount of fresh water in some areas. Well, maybe, I thought. Not my wheelhouse. 

So, having calmed down with reassurances that the Skagit watershed will not be feeding swimming pools in LA, I then could take in the potential, not just for transporting water long distances, but perhaps also putting many, many small turbines in these very long tunnels to generate power as the flowing water makes its way from source to destination. That’s intriguing. And, as it turns out, today’s speaker was not fixated on Pacific Northwest water going to California; rather he was thinking about water from parts of northern Canada, where fresh water is a problem, going to the ag areas and population centers in southern Canada or even the US (someday when the US and Canada are friends again). 

This tunneling scheme was just one of many climate friendly projects that tribes are researching as they seek to invest in projects that will benefit their communities and the rest of the world as well. And not all of their business ventures are focused on climate challenges. Many are simply trying to find businesses beyond casinos that could employ tribal members on reservations but also in urban areas. 

Lots of good news was presented, and I welcome that for sure. But I found it a bit ironic that tribes might be the biggest cheerleaders for capitalism today. How rich is that?