Deal could end bitter Wash. battle, but not everyone's happy

摘要

OKANOGAN-WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST, Wash. — Central Washington's long water war may soon be over. The battle has raged for decades on many fronts in the Yakima Valley, where water rights far outstrip available water. Irrigation districts fought each other over access to water used by farmers to grow apples, hops, grapes and other crops. They sparred with the Yakama Nation, whose 1855 treaty rights guarantees access to fish. And they clashed with environmental groups opposed to dams.