Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-532 - Water resources program for the Walla Walla River basin, WRIA-32 › Section 173-532-020 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
				be used.
(1) "Allocation" means the
			 designating of specific amounts of the water resource for specific beneficial
			 uses.
(2) "Appropriation" means the
			 process of legally acquiring the right to specific amounts of the public water
			 resource for application to beneficial uses.
(3) "Consumptive use" means use of water
			 whereby there is diminishment of the amount or quality of the water
			 source.
(4) "Department" means the
			 Washington state department of ecology.
(5) "Director" means the director of the
			 department of ecology.
(6)
			 "Domestic use" means use of water associated with human health and welfare
			 requirements, including water used for drinking, bathing, sanitary purposes,
			 cooking, laundering, and other incidental household uses. Irrigation of lawn
			 and noncommercial garden under the permit exemption in
			 RCW
			    90.44.050 shall not exceed one-half
			 acre.
(7) "Environmental
			 enhancement project" means a water storage project, above or below ground, that
			 would provide net environmental benefits, with particular emphasis on enhancing
			 salmonids production. Projects that enhance instream flows directly or
			 indirectly qualify under the definition. Projects proposed as mitigation for
			 new consumptive water rights do not qualify under this definition.
(8) "Gravel aquifer" means any geologic
			 formation generally under unconfined, or water table, conditions which consist
			 of sand and gravel and may contain interbedded layers of silt and
			 clay.
(9) "Instream flow" means a
			 level of stream flow, established under
			 chapters
			 90.54,
			 90.03, 90.22, and 90.82 RCW,
			 required in perennial streams to preserve wildlife, fish, scenic, aesthetic,
			 and other environmental and navigational values. The term means "base flow"
			 under chapter 90.54
			 RCW, a "minimum flow" under
			 chapters
			 90.03 and 90.22 RCW, and
			 "minimum instream flow" under chapter 90.82 RCW. In the
Walla Walla
			 Watershed Plan
, adopted in June 2005 by Walla Walla and Columbia
			 counties, the term "new appropriation flows" has the same meaning as instream
			 flows under this chapter.
(10)
			 "Municipal water supplier" and "municipal water supply purposes" are defined in
			 RCW
			    90.03.015.
(11) "Nonconsumptive use" means a type of
			 water use where either there is no diversion or withdrawal from a source, or
			 where there is no diminishment of the amount or quality of the water
			 source.
(12) "Perennial stream"
			 means a stream that normally flows year-round.
(13) "Planning unit" means the Walla Walla
			 watershed planning unit, established under chapter 90.82 RCW, and all
			 successors, formally designated by the Walla Walla watershed planning
			 initiating governments. The initiating governments are Columbia and Walla Walla
			 counties, city of Walla Walla, and Gardena Farms Irrigation District No.
			 13.
(14) "Water right" means a
			 right to make beneficial use of public waters of the state, including any water
			 right established for instream flow purposes.
(15) "Withdrawal" means the extraction of
			 groundwater, or the diversion of surface water for a beneficial use.
Statutory Authority: Chapters 90.82,
				  90.54, 90.22,
				  90.03, and
				  90.44 RCW. 07-17-007 (Order 04-08),
				  § 173-532-020, filed 8/2/07, effective 9/5/07; Order DE 77-30, §
				  173-532-020, filed 12/14/77.