Doug McChesney Water Resources Program Washington Department of Ecology Western States Water Council Water Resources Committee Meeting April 1, 2004 Challenges to Managing Washington’sGround Water Washington’s Ground Water

 Washington is not always wet  Wet winters and dry summers  East – West differences  Development linked to water  Water supplies already stressed A Little Background...

Igneous bedrock (undifferentiated) Columbia Plateau Basalts Miocene basaltic rocks Northern Rocky Mountains Intermontane Basins Pleistocene to Miocene basin-fill sediments Puget-Willamette Lowland Volcanic and sedimentary rocks (undifferentiated) Major Aquifers of Washington

 The 1917 Water Code - adopted prior appropriation principles  The Ground Water Code (1945) - supplemental to 1917 Water Code  Water Resources Act of 1971 – established water management fundamentals Major Statutes:

The Ground Water Code:  The  The underground water is part of or tributary to any stream or lake, or  A  A withdrawal may affect the flow of any spring, water course, lake, or other body of surface water The right of an appropriator and owner of surface water is superior to any subsequent ground water right if either:

Water Resources Act of 1971 Fundamentals:  Perennial rivers and streams to have base flows necessary for preservation of:  Wildlife  Fish  Scenic  aesthetic and other environmental values  navigational values  Full recognition to be given to the natural interrelationships of surface and ground waters

 Hydraulic continuity (“capture of surface water by wells”)  Ground water transfers  Ground water exemption  Cross-boundary issues Key challenges:

 Many streams have instream flows  Flows considered appropriative rights  Flows not being met more frequently  Many applications for water rights  Ecology denied applications based upon impairment of instream flows Challenge 1 - Continuity:

 Postema decision upheld finding of impairment  Recognized fully-integrated approach to managing surface and ground water  Approach called “the scientific ideal” – Glennon & Maddock Processing water right applications made much more complexProcessing water right applications made much more complex The Situation:

 Mitigation  Storage  Watershed planning Options for addressing:

 Legal framework in place  In-kind measures  Same place  Same amount  Same time  Out-of-kind measures  Habitat improvements  Basin-level approaches Mitigation

 Off-channel storage  Aquifer storage & recovery  Artificial recharge Storage

 Locally-based groups  Decisions by consensus  Assess water resources  Identify future needs  Recommend instream flows  Develop management strategies Watershed planning

Challenge 2 – Ground water transfers:  Ecology encourages transfers  Better chance to get water right  Reduces impacts on streams  Water supplies more reliable

The Situation:  Law limits ability to transfer  Same body of public ground water  Many discontinuous aquifers  Same hydrogeologic formations  East – West differences  Flexibility limited

 Require only one-way connection  Consider multiple aquifers as system  Recognize regional differences  Use impairment as sole test Options for addressing:

Challenge 3 – Ground Water Exemption:  Small uses of water are exempt from water right permitting process  Statutory language ambiguous  Number of wells unknown  Extent of effects unknown  Impacts greatest on smaller streams

The Situation:  Permits are difficult to obtain  Exemption used improperly  Courts have limited application  Uncertainty and inconsistency  Limiting rural growth

 Create reservations  Develop accountability  Variable application  Statutory modification Options for addressing:

Challenge 4 - Cross-boundary issues:  Different areas; different problems  Other elements, e.g. water quality  Different statutory frameworks  Jurisdictional questions  Technical information inconsistent

Areas with Cross-boundary Issues Abbottsford – Sumas Spokane - Rathdrum Portland - Vancouver Pullman - Moscow Walla Walla

 Memoranda of understanding  Informal working agreements  Watershed planning Options for addressing:

We can’t rely on old ways of solving problems

 We have many of necessary tools  More pressure on resource  Situations are more complex  More pressure on tools  Frontiers for experimentationand innovation  Frontiers for experimentation and innovation Conclusions: