8/27/2012 1 Washington Water Rights Adjudication Legislative Council on River Governance August 20, 2012 – Boise Idaho Benno Bonkowski Section Manager for Adjudications, Dam Safety, Wells Washington State Department of Ecology Water Resources Program Washington State Water Rights Adjudication I. Washington Adjudications - Background II. Yakima Adjudication - Status III. Spokane Area Adjudication - Preparations IV. Other Water Resolution Efforts 2
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Washington Water Rights Adjudication
Legislative Council on River Governance August 20, 2012 – Boise Idaho
Benno Bonkowski Section Manager for Adjudications, Dam Safety, Wells Washington State Department of Ecology Water Resources Program
Washington State Water Rights Adjudication
I. Washington Adjudications - Background
II. Yakima Adjudication - Status
III. Spokane Area Adjudication - Preparations
IV. Other Water Resolution Efforts
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I. Washington Adjudications - Background
Like other western states adjudication is: – Key element of state water law –Underlying & widely unachieved premise to
water management
Support for adjudication ebbs & flows – Expensive – Difficult – Lengthy – Shelf-life Decay
Nudges Toward Adjudication
Growing water demand & disputes
Heightened water awareness
– Climate change
–Watershed planning
Keeping up with neighbor states
Limited alternatives to adjudication
Practical need to define rights for management & protection
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Washington Adjudication Need
~170,000 unadjudicated water right claims
~50,000 water right certificates issued since 1917 - some not in use, in whole or in part
Undocumented rights - not in state record (riparian, stockwater, permit-exempt wells)
Most Federal/Indian claims not determined
Uncertainty hinders watershed planning, water management & markets
29 Tribes – Mostly Undetermined Water Rights
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Washington Adjudications Demand
74 pending adjudication petitions with filing dates from 1912 to 2000
One petition filed by Watershed Planning Unit (Colville River Basin)
State can initiate adjudication without petition
Washington Adjudications – Completed
82 completed adjudications
Decree dates range from 1918 To 1990
13 smaller adjudications completed during the Yakima Adjudication
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One Active Adjudication- Yakima Basin
II. Yakima Adjudication Status aka “Acquavella”
Big – 31 sub-basins,
4 counties (surface water)
Complex – many parties, 30 major claimants, Federal non-Indian/Indian reserved rights
Lengthy – filed in 1977 – active phase 1985
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Yakima Adjudication Status
Good progress but delayed – Subbasin 23 CFO appeal – various issues – State Supreme Court hearing this September three
years after initial appeal to Court of Appeals
All Conditional Final Orders (CFOs) in place for – 30 Major Claimants (irrigation districts, cities) – 31 Subbasins (smaller individual claimants) – Federal Reserved Indian & Non-Indian
Draft Proposed Final Decree issued
Draft Schedule of Rights prepared for review & update
Yakima Adjudication – Early Fruit
Better water management – now managing to CFOs
Better working relationships among parties – Cooperation during shortages – Operational Water Transfer Working Group
Improved water efficiency & conservation
Improved flows for fish & environment
More certainty to support private investment
– Water transfers, changes, banking – Trust water purchases
A plus for federal water infrastructure investment
– Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Mgt. Plan
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Yakima Adjudication - Challenges
Delay in Completion - Final Decree 2015?
Case extending beyond tenure of expertise & data systems
Staleness & lag between CFO & Final Decree
Doesn’t cover groundwater
Extended time & cost add hurdle to new adjudications (Spokane)
III. Spokane Area Adjudication – Preparations Why Spokane?
Uncertainty regarding extent, validity, priority of rights
Increased level of water activities & planning needs
Increased pressure on water supplies within area
Start of Northern Idaho Adjudication
– Understanding that adjudication protects each state’s interest in shared waters
– Supports negotiations, agreement and/or litigation on shared waters
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Spokane Adjudication Preparations - Funding
FY ‘07-09 $575,000 funding for Spokane “pre-adjudication” work
FY ‘09-11 agency made request for funding sufficient to formally start/file adjudication
Economic recession intervened – funding continued at $587,000 at previous level into FY’11-13
Sufficient for solid preparation - but insufficient to launch adjudication
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Spokane Adjudication Preparations – Legal
Made legal preparations necessary to develop & file adjudication case
Ecology proposed adjudication modernization legislation in anticipation of Spokane Adjudication based on Water Disputes Task Force Report of 2003
Legislature enacted ESHB 1571 Chapter 332, Laws of 2009
Updates adjudication process to make it faster & less complicated
Addresses both judicial & non-judicial aspects of law
Spokane Adjudication Preparations – Management
Conducted extensive local outreach work with Spokane
area interests
Worked with State Administrative Office of Court and
Spokane County /Court administration process & budget
Scoped initial phase of a information system (technology
encouraged in new legislation)
Completed substantial technical groundwork including
analysis & digital mapping of >20,000 water records
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Water Records Research & Mapping Progress as of 3/31/2012
SPOKANE AREA PRE-ADJUDICATION
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WRIA 54 Lower Spokane WRTS Completed
Claims 1728 1685 98%
Certs/Pmts 447 425 95%
Total 2175 2110 97%
WRIA 55 Little Spokane WRTS Completed
Claims 4106 4014 98%
Certs/Pmts 1306 1221 93%
Total 5412 5235 97%
WRIA 56 Hangman WRTS Completed
Claims 2193 2169 99%
Certs/Pmts 431 417 97%
Total 2624 2586 99%
WRIA 57 Middle Spokane WRTS Completed
Claims 1195 1172 98%
Certs/Pmts 573 550 96%
Total 1768 1722 97%
WRIA 34 Palouse WRTS Completed
Claims 4686 4553 97%
Certs/Pmts 803 768 93%
Total 5489 5321 97%
WRIA 62 Pend Oreille WRTS Completed
Claims 1049 1021 97%
Certs/Pmts 731 743 102%
Total 1780 1764 99%
WRIA 35 Middle Snake WRTS Completed
Claims 2694 211 8%
Certs/Pmts 618 40 6%
Total 3312 251 8%
Spokane Adjudication – Current Status
Spokane adjudication effort is being maintained in “ready-to-start” mode for future action & funding
Staff transitioned to other duties with small portion of time retained for Spokane start-up
Preparing to brief the next administration for decision on path forward
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IV. Other Water Resolution Efforts
Re-slicing & Expanding Water Pie
Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Mgt. Plan – Major long-term big $ initiative with U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, local partners, Yakama Nation & State – Plan to:
• Increase water storage • Restore fish passage at reservoirs • Develop water markets for new water uses through
acquisition of existing senior water rights
Lake Roosevelt Agreement with Colville Confederated Tribes & Spokane Tribe set foundation for Columbia River Program expanding supply & protecting fish
Other Water Resolution Efforts
Good progress on implementing Lummi Reservation
Groundwater Settlement (Lawsuit in Federal Court)
Direct settlement talks to resolve treaty fisheries instream flow claims with two treaty tribes & local watershed group
– Suspended by the tribes over impasses
– These tribes & western treaty tribes collectively have asked Dept. of Interior for federal case to assert claims
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Other Water Resolution Efforts
Reviewing pump exchange possibility on Walla Walla with Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Engaged in major multi-year watershed planning process to bring parties to agreement on water planning & management
– Broadened base of understanding
– Mixed success on water management agreements (instream flow setting, groundwater reservation limits)
