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Department of Ecology News Release - May 29, 2002
02-094
YAKIMA - A water-right transfer approved by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) will provide the community of Peshastin near Leavenworth with enough water to accommodate growth over the next 16 years.
The decision will allow water formerly used to operate the Peshastin Forest Products Mill to become part of the Peshastin Water District's water right for municipal use, including industrial and commercial growth.
Earlier this spring, the Chelan County Conservancy Board forwarded a decision transferring water rights totaling 520 acre-feet per year to the Peshastin Water District. Ecology was able to endorse the decision with minor modifications.
Last summer, the conservancy board had forwarded a similar transfer decision that could not be approved in the full amount because associated planning documents did not support the estimated water demand.
The community's future water needs were outlined in water plans prepared in the mid-1990s and submitted to the state departments of Health and Ecology. A re-analysis of those plans showed the community had understated how much water would be needed to support the community and a business park.
With the new engineering analysis, the community was able to show a more realistic picture of how much water is needed," explained Bob Barwin, Ecology's water-right manager in Yakima. "This allowed for a greater amount of water to be transferred from the Peshastin mill right without relinquishment."
Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610, or pager, (509) 574-0490
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/303d/
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
