Time outs aid aquifer water users

ODESSA — Water users in the struggling Odessa Subarea still have the opportunity to protect their water rights if they don't use them.

Earlier this year, the 2006 Washington Legislature passed Senate Bill 6151 to enable Odessa Subarea water users to protect their water rights from relinquishment for non-use.

Odessa Subarea water users who voluntarily choose to not exercise their water right in accordance with the provisions of Senate Bill 6151 are required to provide notice to the Department of Ecology (DOE) in writing within 180 days from when they stop exercising their water right. The bill sunsets July 1, 2021.

Department of Ecology spokesperson Jani Gilbert said five forms have come in, but in several cases there are multiple water right holders.

Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, one of the key proponents in passing the bill, said there was definite interest from water users, although some have been cautious or suspicious that there was a catch. He also said it took DOE a little longer than he would have liked with the forms.

"I think it's important that users take advantage of this," he said. "If economics, crop rotations, pumping capabilities affect their ability, they're certainly better off to protect that water right."

The state has a "use it or lose it" doctrine, with the percentage of water not used subject to loss. Many irrigators, due to reasons like extra rain for several years, pumps not up to capacity or cropping rotations, will not use their full water right, Schoesler said, or others might want to shut down for a while until rotating to a higher value crop that would justify the pumping cost.

"Certainly, the value of many farms is their water right," Schoesler said. "They need to protect that, but yet they need to consider economics. This rewards conservation and good economics without any real downside."

Columbia Basin Development League chair Roger Thieme called the bill a "very significant" piece of legislation.

"What it does is it allows people to shut a well off if they don't need water," he said, noting that provided a lot of assistance to the declining aquifer level this year, because of the amount of heavy rain earlier in the season. "The change of law allowed them to shut their wells down for days when they really didn't need the water."

Without the legislation, Thieme said, users would have had to continue to pump water from their wells just to maintain their withdrawal rights.

"It is definitely a step in the right direction to let the users of those wells make common sense decisions on a day-to-day basis, that will in the long term help extend the life of that existing aquifer," he said.

Users need to file with the DOE that they wish to participate in the time out from relinquishment. Schoesler said the department now has a simple form available online or with a phone call, growers or landlords can register to participate.

For information, contact Alix Mills in the Spokane office of the Water Resources Program at (509)329-3541 or amil461@ecy.wa.gov.