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State official outlines Washington water-rights framework and legal limits on new uses
Summary
Rhea Burns of the Department of Ecology briefed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Washington's prior-appropriation water-rights system, types of water rights, permit-exempt wells, the role of instream flow rules, and key court decisions that constrain approval of new or changed water uses.
Rhea Burns, program manager for the Washington Department of Ecology's Water Resources Program, told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 24 that Washington uses a prior-appropriation water-rights system: water "belongs to the state," is permitted for beneficial use, and rights are determined by seniority — "first in time, first in right." Burns explained the four core tests for new appropriations and described four categories of rights, including pre‑code claims, permits and certificates, permit‑exempt groundwater uses and tribal reserved rights.
Burns said Washington's surface and groundwater statutes first established prior‑appropriation in state law (Surface Water Code, 1917; Groundwater Code, 1945) and that the state…
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