Growth Management Area Information

Washington State Department of Ecology

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Growth Management Act Information

The Growth Management Act

The Growth Management Act (GMA, Chapter 36.70A Revised Code of Washington) requires comprehensive land use planning by counties and cities.

The environmental planning goal is to “protect the environment and enhance the state’s high quality of life, including air and water quality, and the availability of water” (RCW 36.70A.020).

Critical Areas

The GMA requires the designation and protection of “critical areas” to prevent harm to the community from natural hazards and to protect natural resources.

Natural hazards are frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas.
Natural resources are wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, and “areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water,” which are called Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (CARAs).

Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas

The goal of establishing CARAs is to protect the functions and values of a community’s drinking water by preventing pollution and maintaining supply.

The GMA defines CARAs as “areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water.”

The following steps characterize where groundwater resources are important to the community and how to protect them.

Identify where groundwater resources are located.
Analyze the susceptibility of the natural setting where ground water occurs.
Inventory existing potential sources of groundwater contamination.
Classify the relative vulnerability of ground water to contamination events.
Designate areas that are most at risk to contamination events.
Protect by minimizing activities and conditions that pose contamination risks.
Ensure that contamination prevention plans and best management practices are followed.
Manage groundwater withdrawals and recharge impacts to:
- Maintain availability for drinking water sources.
- Maintain stream base flow from ground water to support in-stream flows, especially for salmon-bearing streams.

The Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas Guidance Document provides details about each one of these steps.

Last updated August 2007