As you may recall from my prior blog posts, the Washington State Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) recommended adjudication of the Nooksack River watershed (also called WRIA 1) in September 2020 and received funding for the adjudication in the 2021-2023 biannual budget. More information is available at Ecology’s WRIA 1 adjudication website. Pending further funding, the…

As described in my November 2020 blog, in September 2020, the Washington State Department of Ecology submitted a report to the Washington State legislature requesting funding for an adjudication of the water rights in two watersheds, the Nooksack River Basin (WRIA 1) and the Lake Roosevelt and Middle Tributaries (WRIA 58). The state legislature passed…

In a September 2020 report to the legislature, the Washington State Department of Ecology (“DOE”) recommended that water rights in the Nooksack River watershed (“WRIA 1”), along with rights in one other watershed, Lake Roosevelt and middle tributaries (WRIA 58), be formally adjudicated. All water withdrawn in Washington State is withdrawn pursuant to a water…

The Washington State Supreme Court decision Whatcom County v. Hirst, 186 Wash.2d 648, 381 P.3d 1 (2016) set off years of uncertainty for rural and suburban development in Whatcom County. Most of Whatcom County is in the Nooksack River watershed (“WRIA 1”). You can find out if your property is in WRIA 1 or a…

This region has seen increasingly wet winters but increasingly dry summers, making storage of winter rainwater for use during the summer seem wise.

Rainwater harvesting is not specifically regulated by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). Ecology does have a policy which indicates that beneficial use of rainwater does not require a water right