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| June 2011 Update | Ecology’s Report to the Legislature | Background | Contact Information |
| Do you have Water to Sell? | Legislative funding to buy water | Related links | Cabin Owner’s Bill (Senate Bill 6861) |
In the last few months Ecology closed on its purchase of a 60 acre-feet per year water right. This is the same 60 ac-ft that was temporarily assigned to cover junior water right holders in case of a drought (see last year’s update below). Now Ecology can work on permanently selling mitigation credits based on this purchase.
First, Ecology will offer the mitigation to junior water right holders because they are a defined group that won’t require permits to use water (the most bang for our buck). The 60 ac-ft is not enough to cover all the juniors based on the face value of their water rights. Therefore, Ecology needs to find out how much water each junior is ACTUALLY using to stretch the mitigation as far as possible. Since the price is based on volume, there should be incentive to only buy what is needed.
Once this first offering is complete, Ecology will assess if there is water remaining to run a second offering. If water is available, Ecology will begin contacting the other users about buying mitigation. Once the 60 ac-ft is fully dispersed Ecology will continue to pursue more water right purchases.
Ecology and its partners are always shopping for more water, but with prices going up, we’ll likely need the funds from selling this mitigation to buy additional water rights. In the next few months Ecology will begin contacting junior water right holders and will keep the people on the e-mail list informed as to how the process is developing.
If you have any questions please contact:
Kelsey Collins
WA Dept of Ecology, Water Resources
15 W. Yakima Ave, Suite
200
Yakima WA 98902
Phone 509-575-2640
E-mail
kesi461@ecy.wa.gov
Ecology has been directed by the legislature to purchase senior water rights to mitigate for domestic users that face shut off in dry years. The type of water rights we are looking for:
If you’re interested in exploring the option of selling a portion of your water right, please contact:
Kelsey Collins
WA Dept of Ecology, Water Resources
15 W. Yakima Ave, Suite
200
Yakima WA 98902
Phone 509-575-2640
E-mail
kesi461@ecy.wa.gov
The efforts of cabin and camp representatives are finally paying off. We have taken a significant step to avoid shut offs in dry years by buying water to mitigate for impacts to pro-ratable water users by post-1905 domestic water users with rights confirmed by the adjudication court.
There are two things going on at the same time; we’re working toward a short term and a long term solution. In April, Ecology will ask Yakima Superior Court to temporarily transfer water rights to trust for camps and cabin owners (the court only has jurisdiction to make temporary transfers). If approved, the transfer will mitigate for this summer’s post-1905 domestic surface water users. This short term solution requires no action by water right holders and, if approved by the court, will remain in effect through the irrigation season. However, this solution does not cover water users without a water right (confirmed by the adjudication court).
The long term solution is still water banking. The purchased water rights are also in the process of being transferred to trust permanently and managed in a water bank. Once water is available, Ecology will offer mitigation credits to post-1905 water right holders so they can protect themselves from future shut offs. Water right holders will need to apply to Ecology as early as this fall to get this process started. Ecology will let you know when we can start accepting applications.
In the future, Ecology hopes to expand the water bank to offer solutions to non-water right holders as well. Mitigating for non-water right holders is more difficult since it requires an additional case-by-case analysis.
A half dozen youth camps, hundreds of recreational homeowners, and other surface water users on White, Chinook and Snoqualmie mountain passes face a court order to shut off their water anytime the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation rations water to its Yakima Project members.
Since the Legislature passed funding, Ecology has been working with contractors and directly bidding on water right purchases. To date, Ecology has been unable to attract a seller of a valid water right that meets the needs. An informational meeting was held on May 28, 2008 in Yakima to discuss launching a new appeal from camp staff and cabin owners directly to the public. The following documents detail this meeting:
Ecology is currently negotiating with the Bureau of Reclamation to complete a federal contract for storage and delivery of water. Earlier this year, Ecology and Reclamation reached agreement and signed a Memorandum of Understanding laying much of the ground work.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3056. FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY
Transfer of Water Rights for Cabin Owners (08-1-951)- $450,000 State Building Construction Account
The appropriation in this section is subject to the following conditions and limitations: The appropriation is provided solely for the purchase of water for domestic water users in the Yakima Basin WRIAs 37, 38, and 39) that have a surface water right with a priority date later than May 10, 1905, as well as for all out-of-priority surface water users in the Yakima Basin. A portion of the appropriation may be used for administrative and other costs associated with acquiring and transferring the water rights. The department shall recover all costs from participating domestic water users for their prorated portion of the cost of securing a water right or rights for this purpose and associated annual operational costs owed to the United States bureau of reclamation. Funds recovered in this manner shall be placed in the drought preparedness account.
Hundreds of surface water users in the Yakima Basin are under court order to cease all water use, including their in-house use, during dry years. Many of the water users being told to shut off are camps and cabin owners, including both seasonal and permanent residences, that have been using surface water since the 1930’s or earlier.
These individuals and camp representatives understand that future shut-offs are inevitable and have asked the State Legislature for help. The Legislature responded by passing Senate Bill 6861 directing the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to report on “the issues surrounding competing users of surface water in areas where domestic water use has been curtailed by a court order and to suggest legislation or other solutions for resolving conflicts over limited water resources.”
To meet the requirements of the study, we need to focus on collection of information for seasonal and year-round residential uses to include information regarding residential water uses and the circumstances surrounding the competition between domestic uses and all other uses.
The end of official data collection for the survey was September 30, 2006. Any on-line or written surveys after this date will be tabulated as to number received, and may or may not be included depending on quantity, budget and timing.
The Department of Ecology is to provide a report to the Legislature on the issues surrounding competing users of surface water in areas where domestic water use has been curtailed by a court order and to suggest legislation or other solutions for resolving conflicts over limited water resources.
The study is to include information regarding residential water uses and the circumstances surrounding the competition between domestic uses and all other uses. The study is limited to basins currently involved in a water rights adjudication and is to focus on collection of information for seasonal residential uses.
Timeline and Communication Strategy
On May 19, 2006, Ecology met with leaders of cabin owner groups in the greater Yakima area. The issues that were discussed included:
With assistance from the cabin owner groups, a project timeline and communication strategy has been developed.
The United States Bureau of Reclamation has constructed works in the greater Yakima Basin that routinely deliver more than 2 million acre-feet of water for irrigation and municipal supply. The Bureau delivers water to two main groups of water users: senior users and proratables.
Junior water right holders have water rights with priority dates after May 10, 1905, and since 2001 these users have been ordered by Yakima County Superior Court to not use water when proratables receive less than their full water rights. Others may be using water without the benefit of a water right, which is not allowed under State law.
A general water adjudication proceeding for surface water rights has been underway in the Yakima River watershed since the late 1970s. In 2001, the Roza Irrigation District, a May 10, 1905 pro-ratable water right holder, obtained a court order curtailing the use of water by all junior right holders. That order has been replaced with an order entered on June 10, 2004, limiting the exercise of water rights in the Yakima River and its tributaries by junior water users when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation imposes rationing for the Yakima irrigation project. The restriction imposed by the court continues until the end of the irrigation season on October 31.
On March 10, 2005, the Governor declared a statewide drought emergency that authorized the Department of Ecology to access emergency drought resources. As part of the drought response, Ecology filed a motion with the Superior Court to place 60 acre-feet of water into the State's Trust Water Program to offset post-1905 limited domestic water use. The Court approved the transfer for the 2005 season.
Future curtailment of post-1905 water rights in the Yakima River watershed is likely to occur again. In response to this issue, a group of cabin users worked with legislators to sponsor a study bill to identify the magnitude and scope of the problem, and to address potential solutions.
For general information:
Kelsey Collins
WA Dept of Ecology, Water Resources
15 W. Yakima
Ave, Suite 200
Yakima WA 98902
Phone 509-575-2640
E-mail
kesi461@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
