Concerning filing of adjudication claims for precode uses of groundwater and surface water in the water resource inventory area 1 water rights adjudication.

 S-1006.1

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5212

State of Washington

69th Legislature

2025 Regular Session

By Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Shewmake, Short, Chapman, and Nobles)

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/25.

AN ACT Relating to filing of adjudication claims for precode uses of groundwater and surface water in the water resource inventory area 1 water rights adjudication; amending RCW 90.14.043 ; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that after completing the Yakima basin surface water rights adjudication, the department of ecology filed a new water rights adjudication for water resource inventory area 1 ("WRIA 1") applying to Whatcom and Skagit counties.

The legislature finds that water users are seeking to apply similar procedures and lessons learned from the Yakima basin water rights adjudication to the new WRIA 1 adjudication.