They're coming for your water

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/09/04/100loc_water001.cfm

Water rights are property rights. If you don't believe this, then take a look at this article from today's Everett Herald, where Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 5, the Stillaguamish River Basin, now has a new instream flow rule, signed August 26, 2005.

The article sets off by saying that this is a controversial rule. Why might that be? Well, for all existing properties served by a well, the exempt water right allows you to draw 5,000 gallons of water a day for single residence domestic use. The new rule is aiming toward an average of 350 gallons a day for single residence domestic use for wells punched after the adoption of the rule.

The rule drew fire from WRIA 5 residents, but Ecology went ahead and did it anyway.

You are also limited to watering a lawn, or a garden, or a combination of the two, of no more than 1/12 of an acre. That's right, one-twelfth of an acre!

Not only that, but Ecology took all water not already allocated to water rights for itself, and will assert full control as a senior water rights holder over anyone needing to draw water from the watershed in the future. Landowners will be having to supplicate at the government alter for permission to have even the pittance of water that they will deign to allow the subject to use. Somehow, I don't think this is the position the Founders wanted government officials to have in respect to their citizen employers.

You should really become more informed about the WRIA instream flow process, because you live in one of those WRIAs, and this process is coming to you. The WRIA 5 process and final rule is available online at...

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/stillaguamishbasin.html

I live in WRIA 17, where the process is well under way, and I've been attending the public meetings. We're generating larger turnouts of mainly opposed landowners than the Ecology folks have anticipated. We've got people asking good, hard questions, and we are learning that Ecology is not playing with a full deck of science, and that the scientific process they are using would not gain a passing grade in a high school science class. They are attempting to make highly restrictive rules without adequate data to back up even the need for the rule, much less the restrictiveness they are seeking.

They've succeeded in WRIA 5, at least unless the PUD or County take them to court on the rule. We hope to see that happen soon...

Reserves are set for future development. Once the allocation to the reserve for a sub-basin has been reached, no additional well permits will be issued. This means that the Department of Ecology is using instream flow rules to limit development...limiting property rights...artificially limiting the ability of people to build homes...artificially driving up housing costs beyond their already astronomical levels.

The WRIA 17 process is online at...

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/quilsnowbasin.html

The Department of Ecology Instream Flow rule page is located at...

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/isfhm.html

The other WRIA processes currently under way are...

Entiat River Basin
Samish River Basin
Lower Columbia River Basin

Some of the WRIAs cross county lines. In establishing this form of cross-boundary jurisdiction over the water resource that every resident needs, the Department of Ecology is diminishing the powers of the county government in many respects where land use and permitting are involved.

Is that something we should stand still for? Is it better to have to petition the county or the Department of Ecology for property rights issues?

The Department of Ecology is only now gearing up for the instream flow process across the state. It's time for as many of us as possible to get involved and work these issues where we live.

The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com
Published: Sunday, September 4, 2005

New rule limits water rights
Drawing of more water in the Stillaguamish River Valley will be granted only with an agreement to stop if the water level gets too low.

By Scott MorrisHerald Writer

Water is not an unlimited resource, even in a place as rainy as the Stillaguamish River Valley.

For new development, that means a new way of doing business.

That's the cautionary premise behind a controversial new rule written by the state Department of Ecology.

The rule sets minimum stream levels designed to keep enough water for fish, boaters, water quality and aesthetics in the Stilly during dry summers. Low flows result in dirtier water with less oxygen, which hurts threatened fish species.

The rule steers new farmers or new businesses away from applying for new water rights. Instead, it encourages them to find and purchase existing water rights.

New water rights for farms and industry will be granted only if they agree to shut off their spigots whenever the river gets too low.

In dry years such as this one, that could mean most of the summer.

Existing farms and businesses will not be affected.

That idea of an interruptible water right drew fire when the new rule was first proposed this year. State officials received more than 700 comments, many from farmers.

With agriculture already struggling, attracting new farmers is going to be nearly impossible if they can't get water in the summer when they need it most, said Hank Graafstra, owner of Country Charm Dairy in Arlington.

"This is the end of any dairy farms being in here," Graafstra said.

Not necessarily, said Ecology Department spokesman Curt Hart.

The department has records for about eight times more existing agricultural water rights and claims than are currently being used, Hart said.

New farmers can buy or arrange transfers of those water rights, he said.

The rule also sets a cap on the amount of groundwater that new rural homes can tap into with wells in the next 20 years.

That amount, 3.2 million gallons, would limit rural growth in the valley to about 9,000 homes, assuming an average daily use of 350 gallons.

"That's more than enough water to provide for 20 years of rural growth," Hart said. "But we don't pretend that this rule is going to provide for all future growth."

More homes could be permitted if water conservation measures are used, Hart said.
The Ecology Department will track how many building permit applications are turned in to Snohomish and Skagit counties' planners, Hart said.

For Graafstra, it seems a shame to watch the steady rains of winter wash out to sea and then face drying trickles in the summer.

"To me, we're going to have to retain some of the water in the wintertime," Graafstra said.

That's actually an option Arlington is considering. The city is scrambling to line up enough water to meet its projected growth goals of as many as 30,000 people in the next 20 years. The city has more than 15,000 people now.

Arlington gets two-thirds of its water from wells at the city-run airport, said Mike Wolanek, a city water-quality specialist. The rest comes from Spada Lake in a deal with Everett and the Snohomish County PUD.

At its projected growth rate, the city could need additional water sources as early as 2011. So the new rule concerns the city's water planners.

While the city will pursue purchases of more Spada Lake water and other existing water rights closer to home in the Stilly valley, it is also looking into capturing winter's excess flows.

To store the water, the city is exploring pumping it back into the ground near its airport wells, said Bill Blake, Arlington's natural resources coordinator.

"I think we can do that up and down the valley in a few areas if we do this right," Blake said. "The rule might cause people some problems, but it's also a reality check. The good part is we're talking about it now instead of when there's a crisis."

Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@ heraldnet.com.

For more information

New farmers who want to know from whom they can purchase or transfer existing water rights can call the state Department of Ecology at 425-649-7270.

To read the new rule, visit www.ecy.wa.gov.