Washingtons Water Challenges Mike Gallagher Water Resources Program - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Washington’s Water Challenges Mike Gallagher Water Resources Program July 17, 2019 Presented to: Western States Water Council Summer Meeting – Leavenworth, WA

Water Availability driven by  Precipitation ecipitation – varies widely across the state  Sub ubsur surface ace ge geologi ogical cal condi nditions tions – varies widely  Sta tate e laws ws and d rul ules es – prior appropriation doctrine  Cour urt t cases ses – “water for water” mitigation often needed  Tribal ibal tr trea eati ties es – water rights from time immemorial 2

Annual Precipitation in Washington 3

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Water Rights in Washington Wat atershe sheds: ds: 62 Wat ater r Rights: hts: 53,000 3,000 50,000 Certificates issued 3,000 Permits in development 4,800 pending applications Cla laims: ms: 170,000 70,000 Claims to use surface water and groundwater pre-date modern water law (1917 and 1945) and are called cl claim ims – not water rights. Permit mit exempt pt individual ividual wells: lls: 400 00,000 ,000 + 5,000 gallons/day limit unless otherwise specified in statute 5

Instream Flow Regulations 27 st state 3 federal ederal 6

Case law has made hydraulic continuity more complex RECHARGE AREA SUB-BASIN B SUB-BASIN A Stream PUMPED WELL Water table Unconfined Years Days aquifer Confining Bed Same body of public groundwater Confined Centuries aquifer Confining Bed Confined Millennia aquifer Basi sin n Divide e unde der natur ural al recha harge e cond ndition ons Hydraulically connected ground and surface water cannot be considered independently. A withdra thdrawal al fr from m one e will ll have e some ef effec ect t on the e othe her. 7

Recent State Supreme Court decisions drastically impacted water management 1) 1) Postema ma v. PCHB Oct ctobe ober r 2000 000 No “de -mini minimu mus ” impairment of existing water rights. 2) 2) Swin inomish ish Trib ibe v. Ecology ology October ober 2013 Overrid rriding ing Consid siderati eration on of the Publi lic Inter erest est (OCPI CPI) cannot t be used d to just stify ify wa water er use that t imp mpai airs existin isting g inst stream ream flows. s. 3) 3) Foster r v. Cit ity of Yelm and d Departm tment t of Ecolog ology y Octobe ober r 2015 Ecology cannot use “out -of of- kind” mitigation to offset impairment of instream flows s or use OCPI PI to just stify ify perma manent ent allocat ocations ions of wa water er. 4) Whatc tcom om County y v. Hir irst and d Future rewi wise Octobe ober r 2016 A county ty has an indep epen ende dent nt obligati igation on to ensure ure that t new privat ate e wells ls do not imp mpai air r flows ws and closures. ures. 8

Working with tribal governments 9

185 855 T 5 Tre reaties aties be between tween Un Unit ited ed Stat States es & & Pug uget t So Sound und are area a Trib ribes es “…The right of taking fish, at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations, is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory …” Upheld by US Supreme Court Tribal water rights — priority date is time immemorial 10

5 ESA-listed species of salmon Chum Salmon Chinook Salmon Steelhead Bull Trout Sockeye Salmon 11

2019 Drought 12

Washington State’s Drought Trigger Less than 75 Percent of Normal Water Supply Drought Hardship RCW 43.83B.400

Olympic Peninsula 14

Welcome to water in Washington! statutes and court surficial water supply decisions wide variation in complex hydrogeological precipitation/recharge conditions 15