Changes to water management policy is usually an active and controversial part of each legislative session. Over the past ten years, new water policy ideas have been included in as many as 50 or 60 statute proposals each year. A lot of recent attention has been on ideas to improve stream flows, bringing certainty to municipal water suppliers, improvements to water relinquishment provisions and support for watershed planning. Clarifying water right status through improved adjudication processes has also received increased attention.
A major policy bill intended to improve water management along the Columbia River passed during the 2006 session and another significant bill related to improving the quality of the waters entering Puget Sound passed during the 2007 session. Both of these bills are actively being implemented.