Water rights

Chehalis River flowing through Rainbow Falls — Chehalis River

Waters of the state belong to the public and can't be owned by any individual or group. Instead, a person or group may be granted a right to use a volume of water, for a defined purpose, in a specific place.

I want to...

You will need a water right if you plan to use any amount of surface water (from a river, stream, spring, or lake) for any purpose.
You will need a water right if you plan to use groundwater (from a well) for any use, with these exceptions:
- single or group domestic uses of less than 5,000 gallons per day
- industrial uses of less than 5,000 gallons per day
- irrigation of lawn or non-commercial garden, a half-acre or less in size
- stock water

If you receive your water from a utility, you don't need a water right as long as your provider has the necessary rights.

Washington’s water law includes the principle that a water right is confirmed and maintained through beneficial use. People often use the expression “use it or lose it” to describe this principle. Put simply, a water right may be wholly or partially lost through extended periods of voluntary non-use. The return of unused water to the state is called relinquishment.

The purpose of relinquishment is to ensure that Washington's limited water resources are put to maximum beneficial use for all of Washington’s citizens

Water Right Relinquishment

Water availability is directly related to how much annual precipitation the state receives. We monitor current water and snowpack supplies and future weather conditions so we can inform the public and other agencies about trends and possible shortages. See more informaton about water availability.

In addition to issuing water rights, we are also responsible for protecting streamflows for fish, wildlife, recreation, aesthetics, water quality, and navigation. We accomplish this by setting instream flows, which are essentially water rights for rivers.

Contact information

Central Region

(Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties)
Help desk: 509-575-2597

Eastern Region

(Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties)
Help desk: 509-329-3400

Northwest Region

(Island, King, Kitsap, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties)
Help desk: 206-594-0193

Southwest Region

(Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, and Wahkiakum counties)
Help desk: 360-407-0278

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