Of Counsel Rachel Roberts (Seattle) recently spoke with The Farming Show, a radio show produced by My Bellingham Now, on the Water Resources Inventory Area 1 (WRIA 1) adjudication. The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) recently began the WRIA 1 adjudication, a legal process that will determine the priority of water rights in Whatcom County and portions of Skagit County. Ecology named as defendants anyone owning real property in WRIA 1 outside the service area of a city, town, or special purpose district, all known persons claiming a right to water within WRIA 1, and the Lummi Nation, The Nooksack Tribe, and the United States.

Rachel explained that the adjudication will affect “everyone in [WRIA 1] who does not [receive] water from another supplier,” and estimated there are between 32,000 and 37,000 defendants. She also added that even if defendants “have a water right on file, [they] still need to respond to this.” B&D wrote about the adjudication in a news alert published earlier this month. 

With an office in Seattle, WA, Beveridge & Diamond’s Water practice develops creative, strategically tailored solutions to challenges that arise under various state water laws. B&D helps clients determine, obtain, and preserve the water rights necessary for their operations. We advise on the challenges and opportunities that arise from competing demands for scarce water resources, agricultural and forestry water management practices, water storage, transfer and conveyance rights, wetlands preservation and mitigation, habitat and species protection requirements, and the watershed-based planning and permitting process. For more information, please contact the authors.