A water rights educational session for residential well users is slated for Sept. 23 at Pioneer Pavilion in Ferndale. Whatcom County Public Works is hosting the event to help residents prepare for the upcoming adjudication process, which is expected to impact roughly 30,000 people in the region.
“Well users make up a good portion of the water users that are going to be party to the water adjudication,” explained Becky Snijder, a program specialist at Whatcom County Public Works.
“A lot of people don’t even really know much about Washington state water law and are having a lot of confusion about why this is happening and what they are going to need to do,” Snijder added.
The 2-hour presentation will provide an overview of water rights law and resources to help residents prepare for the adjudication, with a Q&A session afterward.
The event will be organized by Aspect Consulting, which Public Works contracted to provide outreach and technical assistance during the complex adjudication process. The Department of Ecology and Whatcom County Public Works will each have tables to provide information to the public, confirmed Snijder.
The Department of Ecology filed the water rights lawsuit in Whatcom County Superior Court on May 1. In late August, the department submitted draft claim forms, but those must still be reviewed and approved by the court.
The adjudication lawsuit of Water Resource Inventory Area 1 — which covers the entire Nooksack Basin, as well as Lake Whatcom, TenMile Creek, Sumas, Point Roberts, Lummi Island and other watersheds, such as Dakota Creek and Lake Whatcom — will determine whether each water right is legal, how much water can be used and what its priority will be during shortages.
While a large number of the people directly impacted by the process are expected to be residential well users, it’s also set to have a significant impact on tribes, farmers and local governments, as well as federal and state agencies.
“It’s going to be a really long process and it’s only getting started,” Snijder said. “So it will be a great way to just be in the know.”
Residents are encouraged to register ahead of time for the event. The presentation, scheduled from 5:30–7:30 p.m., will be recorded and put online for those who can’t attend the meeting in person, confirmed Snijder.
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
