FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 28, 2002 02-048
OLYMPIA - The state Supreme Court ruled today that housing developments that would be served by multiple drinking-water wells need a water-right permit before construction begins if the wells together would withdraw more than 5,000 gallons a day.
State law allows single homes or groups of homes to withdraw up to 5,000 gallons a day without a water-right permit. The court ruled that when homes are part of a development they should be treated as one group under the exemption.
In its decision, the court said, "The Legislature did not intend unlimited use of the exemption for domestic uses, and did not intend that water appropriation for such uses be wholly unregulated."
The case began in 1999 when the firm Campbell & Gwinn purchased land in Yakima County with the intent of constructing a 20-house development. To avoid needing a water right, the developers proposed to drill multiple wells to serve the subdivision, with each well withdrawing less than 5,000 gallons a day.
Campbell & Gwinn and the Department of Ecology (Ecology) agreed to bring the exemption question before the Yakima County Superior Court, which ruled for the developers. Ecology then appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court.
"This decision protects streams and rivers as well as senior water-right holders by preventing large, unregulated groundwater withdrawals, which have been a controversial issue in the Yakima basin and statewide," said Joe Stohr, who supervises Ecology's water-resources program. "Getting more clarity about which types of wells are exempt from permits and which are not will help reduce the challenges we face in effectively managing Washington's water supplies."
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