The Klickitat Watershed or Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 30 includes the area that drains to the Klickitat River. It is located in southcentral Washington, in the southwest portion of Yakima County and central Klickitat County.
The Klickitat’s major tributary is the Little Klickitat River. The watershed includes various other tributary streams such as Brush, Bowman, Canyon, Elk, Mill, and White creeks.
Existing water rights
Water rights have been issued in the Klickitat Watershed for over 100 years, and as a result most water in the watershed is already legally spoken for or “appropriated.”
Many adjudications, a legal process to determine the extent and validity of existing water rights, have taken place in the watershed. Prior adjudications are an indication that most, if not all, of the available water has already been allocated. Adjudicated tributary subbasins include: the Little Klickitat River, Mill Creek, Blockhouse Creek, Bird Creek, Frasier Creek, and Bacon Creek.
Go deeper
Find more information about water availability in WRIA 30 including acquiring water and finding existing water rights in our Water Availability Focus Sheet linked below.