Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-505 - Instream resources protection and water resources program › STILLAGUAMISH RIVER BASIN WATER RESOURCES INVENTORY AREA (WRIA) 5 › Section 173-505-090 - Reservation of permit-exempt groundwater for future domestic uses

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) The department
				has weighed the public interest supported by providing a limited amount of
				water for domestic uses with the potential for negative impact to instream flow
				resources. The department finds that the public interest advanced by this
				limited reservation clearly overrides the small potential for negative impacts
				on instream resources (RCW
				   90.54.020(3)(a)).
Based on this finding, the department hereby allocates a
				  total amount of water not to exceed five cubic feet per second (5 cfs) to
				  provide adequate and safe supplies of water for year-round future domestic
				  uses. Of that 5 cfs, the reservation is further defined by limits on the amount
				  of reserved water that can be withdrawn from the North and South Forks of the
				  Stillaguamish River, as identified in the following table.
This reservation of groundwater is not subject to the
				  instream flows established in WAC
				  173-505-050 or the stream
				  closures established in WAC
				  173-505-070.
Table 8 Allocation of Reservation as Measured at
				  Specified River Miles
Water Source (RM - River Mile)
Amount of Water Available, Measured in Cubic
								Feet per Second (cfs) and Gallons per Day (gpd)
Stillaguamish River at RM 11.2
5 cfs or 3.23 million gpd
Of that 5 cfs, the following maximums may be
								taken from the specified locations:
North Fork Stillaguamish River at RM 6.5
2 cfs or 1,292,544 gpd
South Fork Stillaguamish River at RM 24.4
1.5 cfs or 969,408 gpd
(2)
				Use of water under the reservation is available only if all the conditions set
				forth in this section are fully complied with. Conditions for use of the
				reservation water are:
(a) The reserved water
				shall be for groundwater uses exempt from a water right permit application.
				This reservation is for either single or small group domestic uses, as defined
				in WAC 173-505-030(5).
(b) This reservation of groundwater shall not
				exceed 3.23 million gallons of water per day (5 cfs).
(c) Domestic water use shall meet the water
				use efficiency standards of the uniform plumbing code as well as any applicable
				local or state requirements for conservation standards.
(d) This reservation shall be applicable only
				when the appropriate city(ies) or counties submit a written acknowledgment to
				the department that confirms that any legally required determinations of
				adequate potable water for building permits and subdivision approvals will be
				consistent with applicable provisions of this chapter.
Once this chapter is adopted and written acknowledgment is
				  received, the department will promptly notify those city(ies) or counties, the
				  tribes, water well contractors and the public that the reserve is in effect in
				  those jurisdictions where acknowledgments exist.
(e) It shall be the responsibility of an
				applicant for a building permit or subdivision approval proposing a water use
				under the reservation to comply with the conditions in (a), (c), (e), (f), (g)
				and (h) of this subsection and all other conditions of this chapter.
(f) A new groundwater withdrawal under this
				reservation is not allowed in areas where a municipal water supply has been
				established and a connection can be provided by the municipal supplier. If an
				applicant for a building permit or subdivision approval cannot obtain water
				through a municipal supplier, the applicant must obtain a letter from a
				municipal supplier prior to drilling a well which states that service was
				denied. Such a denial shall be consistent with the criteria listed in
				RCW
				   43.20.260.
(g) Outdoor water use is limited to the
				watering of an outdoor area not to exceed a total of 1/12th of an acre for all
				outdoor uses under each individual domestic water use. Under all circumstances,
				total outdoor watering for multiple residences under the permit exemption
				(RCW
				   90.44.050)  shall not exceed one-half
				acre.
(h) The department reserves
				the right to require metering and reporting of water use for single domestic
				users, if more accurate water use data is needed for management of the
				reservation and water resources in the area of the reservation. All other
				groundwater users under the permit-exemption shall be required to install and
				maintain measuring devices, in accordance with specifications provided by the
				department, and report the data to the department.