Oregon's Integrated Water Resource Strategy recommended place-based water planning, a collaborative and locally led approach to meeting instream and out-of-stream water supply needs. The Mid-Coast Water Planning Partnership formed for this purpose.
The Mid-Coast Water Planning Partnership formed in 2016 as part of a grant-funded pilot program developed by the Oregon Water Resources Department. The pilot program encourages stakeholder-driven regional water planning known as place-based planning. GSI is serving as technical consultant to the Partnership, which represents cities, counties, state agencies, water districts, tribes, environmental groups, businesses, and other interested parties in Oregon’s mid-coast region. Together, these groups are developing an integrated water resources plan to achieve healthy watersheds and balance the needs of the region’s ecosystems, economies, and communities.
GSI has supported this effort by:
Broad stakeholder participation in meetings was critical to developing the technical framework for the planning process.
GSI worked closely with agencies and stakeholders to develop baseline technical information to identify key water issues.
The planning process needed to address several sub-watersheds within the Mid-Coast region with distinct water resource issues.