This article was published on: 02/3/12 12:00 AM
6 Things You Need To Know About Water Rights
EarthFix
| Feb. 2, 2012 6:40 a.m.
Water rights in Washington state are pretty
much handled the way things are in an old Western – finders, keepers.
Here are six things you need to know:
- First come, first served: In Washington, water rights
are based on seniority. Senior water rights were claimed before 1905.
Senior water rights holders are ensured all of their allocation every
year. Tribes have “time immemorial” rights, which is pretty much for all
of time. - It’s all about the supply (or demand?): Because senior
water rights holders receive their entire allocation every year, you’re
out of luck if there’s not enough water to go around. If there’s not
enough water, the farther down on the list you are, the less of a chance
you’ll receive water. - So what do you actually own?: Hint, it’s not actually the water. You just own the right to use the water. It’s actually just a stack of papers.
- Fish need the water, too: Water rights can help protect
stream flows for fish. When water is left “instream,” fish are happy.
Some of the water management is used to fill creek beds with water once
they have become dry. - Like the Wild West: Some of the oldest water right
claims date back to the 1880s. Lisa Pelly, Trout Unlimited’s Washington
Water Project director, says some of the oldest water rights she’s seen
belong to pioneers settling in Walla Walla, Washington. - Water banking: This is one solution to the water
shortage problem. This is when water becomes a commodity, kind of like
real estate that’s managed by the state Department of Ecology. In some
eastern and central Washington counties, water is more valuable than
land. Developers can buy senior water rights to create a water bank.
Kittitas County in central Washington is serving as a sort of trial run
for water banking in the state.
This story originally appeared through the EarthFix public media collaboration.
© 2012 EarthFix