Water curtailments for the Chehalis River basin

Notice applies to outdoor water use only—mostly irrigation

The curtailment notice affects junior water right holders in the Chehalis River basin.
We have had an unseasonably warm and dry spring, including the fourth-driest March on record. As a result, even after a wet winter and a memorable bout of snow in February across much of Western Washington, we are now dealing with drought conditions in parts of our state.

The curtailment notice affects junior water right holders in the Chehalis River basin.

Earlier this week, we notified 93 junior water right holders in the Chehalis River basin that their access to surface water for irrigation is curtailed until the rains return and streamflows increase in the state’s second-largest watershed and drainage basin.

The water users have rights that are junior to (younger than) the 1976 instream flows set by state rule for the basin. Those junior water right holders must now stop diverting water from the Chehalis, Newaukum, Satsop, and Wynoochee rivers and their tributaries when flows are not being met to keep the water in the stream.

This is the fifth consecutive year we have issued curtailment orders or notices for junior surface water irrigation uses in the Chehalis basin to comply with the regulatory requirements. It is the first year that we will also be enforcing this rule for four man-made water ski lakes in Thurston and Lewis counties. The curtailment notice does not apply to indoor water use or to water for livestock.

As we’ve done in prior years, our staff will periodically visit the basin and are available to answer questions.

You can find the latest information on instream flows and contact information for our Chehalis basin staff on our website:

• Lower Chehalis watershed 
• Upper Chehalis watershed

Unusual spring weather

The Chehalis basin receives most of its runoff from rain, with some minor contributions from snowpack at higher elevations in headwater streams of the southern Olympic Mountains and the Willapa Hills. Streamflows in the basin are lower than normal for this time of year. It’s been warm and dry in the Chehalis River basin and there is little melting snow left to compensate for the tightening water supply.

Drought and instream flows

Last week, Gov. Inslee officially declared a drought emergency declaration for the Chehalis River basin, along with 26 other watersheds. There are two factors considered for drought declaration: The watershed must be at or below 75 percent of normal flow, and that the low water would cause undue hardship for agriculture or domestic water supply users.

The Newaukum River.

A drought emergency declaration allows Ecology to expedite things like water right permitting and providing funding to local governments to address hardships caused by drought. Some examples of drought-relief projects that funding might be used for include leasing water rights, implementing water conservation programs, and developing alternative sources of water supplies for communities, farmers, and fish hatcheries.

However, the drought declaration is not why there are water right curtailments in the Chehalis basin. We are required by law to protect senior water right users and streamflows for rivers and streams to ensure there is enough water to meet the needs of people, farms, and fish. One of the most effective tools for protecting streamflows is to set instream flows, which are flow levels adopted into rule.

An instream flow rule was established in 1976 for Chehalis basin streams. Since then, newer water rights have been issued that are junior to the flow rule. When flows drop below the adopted levels, junior water rights (those established after the instream flow rule was adopted into law) can be temporarily interrupted in an effort to keep the protected amount of water in the stream. This means junior water rights are curtailed from withdrawing water until streamflows rise above the established flow levels.

Setting instream flows protects our streams, rivers, and lakes from new withdrawals that would harm instream resources including fish, wildlife, recreation, aesthetics, water quality, and navigation.

Read more about protecting streamflows.

By Jeff Zenk, Southwest Region communications

After 40 years, Acquavella adjudication is coming to close

Court date set to confirm all surface water rights in Yakima River Basin

Canyon view of Yakima River - Photo by Tom Tebb

The upcoming May 9, 2019, ‘water day’ in Yakima County Superior Court is one we’ve been working toward for more than 40 years. Judge F. James Gavin has announced that on that day he will consider the entry of the Final Decree of the Yakima River Basin Adjudication, confirming ALL surface water rights for the Yakima River and its numerous tributaries.

In the world of water in Washington state this is a significant day.

Since 1977 when Ecology v. James Acquavella, et al was filed, water day has been a fixture for thousands of surface water right claimants, lawyers and stakeholders. So has the “monthly notice” of court proceedings. The April 1, 2019, monthly notice mailed to 2,500 claimants and interested parties includes the Court Order announcing the Final Decree: A notice they’ve long been waiting for.

Setting rights for a vast watershed

Cherries are a high-value crop 

The adjudication encompasses a watershed supporting the state’s top agricultural economy irrigated by the Bureau of Reclamation’s Yakima Project and five mountain reservoirs. While the case settles old conflicts in the Yakima River Basin, it also should reduce future water disputes, especially among 30 major claimants including cities, irrigation districts, federal entities and the Yakama Nation. And has led to more collaborative water management approaches, to protect all our water needs.

To establish the priority of surface water rights, the court examined thousands of individual water claims along the 31 tributary watersheds in Kittitas, Yakima, and Benton counties and a segment of Klickitat County. Records and documents spanned more than 150 years of history, and considered the treaty rights of the Yakama Nation.

Painting a picture of the 6,150 square-mile.basin -- the mainstem Yakima, Teanaway and Cle Elum rivers and tributary creeks flow from the crest of Snoqualmie Pass. The Naches and Tieton rivers are sourced by tributaries originating just east of Mt. Rainier National Park, joining the Yakima at Selah Gap. Other smaller creeks and tributaries discharge into the Yakima River from Union Gap, through the Lower Yakima Valley all the way to the Columbia River at Richland.

A bit of history, a bit of context for Yakima water management

When the state embarked on judicially settling water rights in 1977, the basin was plagued by water conflicts and the specter of drought. We knew a finite water resource was largely spoken for, and that we needed to clarify the “who, where, when and how much” each water user was legally entitled to, primarily for irrigation, based on the state’s 1917 surface water code — “first in time, first in right.” (See our August 2017 blog about the case winding down).

In the intervening years, the Yakima Basin has experienced seven declared droughts and numerous other low-water years. Surface water deliveries to irrigated farmland can be interrupted or curtailed during shortages, based on the priority date assigned to each water right.

When junior irrigation districts, such as Roza and Kittitas Reclamation, receive only a portion of their water, others on the mainstem can be shut off. Even those with very old, senior water rights along tributaries, such as the Teanaway and Cowiche, may be regulated as they were during the severe drought of 2015.

The Yakama Nation has ancestral water rights, which protect instream flows for fish, and irrigation rights on the Wapato Irrigation Project. The federal government also has obligations to meet streamflows for fish in the watershed. These water needs are taken into account within the basin’s total water supply.

Over the past 42 years, specific legal issues raised by the case have been settled at the state Supreme Court in four separate appeals, establishing important case law precedent.

Looking forward

“The Yakima Adjudication has taught us invaluable lessons,” explained Ecology Director Maia Bellon. “Water is absolutely vital to the Yakima Valley and our entire state. This case provides water users clarity about their rights. And, importantly, it has led to a phenomenal change in how we approach water management.”

While the Superior Court’s issuance of the final decree is monumental, the activities and relationships built in the courtroom across the years have led to a new way to manage water through the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan.

“We’ve found that we’re more effective working as partners at the same table than as adversaries in the courtroom,” said Director Bellon. “Together we’re tackling the challenges of drought and climate change and finding water solutions for our communities, fisheries, agricultural producers – today and for generations to come.”

What’s next after the May 9, 2019 Water Day?

The final schedule of rights will be available for review on Ecology’s website, after the Final Decree is entered in court. Information will be mailed to water right holders on next steps to complete the process for obtaining an adjudicated water right certificate.

Yes, May 9, 2019, will mark a major milestone for Washington and the Yakima River Basin. And yes there’s more to be done to achieve water resiliency and secure water for tomorrow. Let’s build off this event with a commitment to collaborative work and coordinated investments to continue the Yakima Basin’s water resource management success.

By Joye Redfield-Wilder, Ecology Central Regional Communications Manager

Yakima River Basin encompasses 31 tributary watersheds where water rights are now prioritized