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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 02/25/2016 - Kittitas County Commissioners agreed Wednesday afternoon to purchase significantly more senior water rights to add to the County’s fledgling water banking program. The deal, worth about $2.7 million, includes an 1886 water right and a portion of an 1871 water right, both from Coleman Creek. The County expects to receive a total combined consumptive use amount of about 583 acre feet. The per acre foot selling price agreed to by the County and the sellers is $4632.45 per acre foot. The County currently owns about 106 consumptive acre feet of water.
“This purchase adds substantially to our current water portfolio and assures water will be available in many rural areas of the county for decades,” commented Kittitas County Commissioner Paul Jewell. Jewell lead negotiations for the County with the sellers over the past year and serves as the Board’s lead on water issues. “This purchase will likely also help to address a portion of the red zone currently in place in the Coleman Creek area,” added Jewell. “Its historic point of diversion is above our current green zone in the area and should the expand it. It should also turn some of that red area yellow, which helps as well.” Mapped green areas in the County show where mitigation water for new uses is likely available, yellow areas indicate more information and evaluation is needed and water may be available, while red areas mean water for mitigation is not currently available. The final decision, however, will come from Ecology as the water right is evaluated and placed in the State’s Trust Water Rights program making it available for use as mitigation through the County’s water bank. That involves a fairly lengthy process where Ecology examines the history and use of the water right for any potential curtailment concerns and does the legal and scientific work necessary to transfer the right from a seasonal surface water irrigation use to a year-round domestic ground water use. The County has already been in contact with Ecology about this purchase and the process and is moving forward immediately. “We are hoping everything will be complete and in place by the end of the year,” stated Jewell about the process. The purchase requires that County Commissioners evaluate the Ecology report, hold a public hearing, and make a final decision on funding for the sale no later than December 30, 2016. This new water buy accomplishes other goals for the County’s water banking program as well. In the settlement agreement signed by the County, Ecology, and Futurewise in May 2014, the County agreed to obtain mitigation for current water users in the form of senior water rights sufficient to offset current user demand in the Yakima mainstem. That demand is estimated to be about 800 acre feet. The County intends to utilize the 1886 water right portion of this purchase, about 430 acre feet, for that purpose. “We believe there is reason to be concerned that current ground water users may be enjoined in the future in a water curtailment order during a drought. This purchase goes a long way to protecting our citizens in rural areas and making sure water will still be legally available for in-home use even during such an event,” stated Commissioner Jewell. Even though much of the water is being dedicated to current use mitigation, the purchase also more than doubles the County’s holdings that are available for new uses. In addition, the sale price is much lower than previous deals. That lower price will keep the amount that new users have to pay for mitigation from the County’s water bank low. It is also likely that some or all of the water may be used in the Upper Kittitas County green zone areas by utilizing storage in the reservoirs. “This is great news for everyone in Kittitas County,” added Commissioner Gary Berndt. “This water assures that users throughout the County will have access to mitigation from the County’s water bank at an affordable price.”
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Paul Jewell, Kittitas County CommissionerPhone: 509-962-7508Email: paul.jewell@co.kittitas.wa.us