Lake Chelan coordinated cost reimbursement program

In December 2019, we partnered with Chelan County to initiate a Lake Chelan Coordinated Cost Reimbursement Program in order to process pending water right applications from the Lake Chelan Reserve. Under the program, applicants may acquire a water right permit by sharing costs with other applicants to process their applications.

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The Lake Chelan Basin has a finite reserve of water to allocate. Processing applications under both of the following options will continue until all of the pending applications have been processed and the “reserve” water is used up.

Option 1

We have contracted with a consultant to investigate the applications and develop the Reports of Examination and subsequent water right permits. Applicants must pay for the cost of the consultant to manage and do the work.

Option 2

Applicants seeking water for domestic exempt use may elect instead to be processed under a program through Chelan County.

This program is a less expensive option ($2,000) than Option 1 through the Coordinated Cost Reimbursement Program and was activated April 1, 2021; only domestic, exempt uses are eligible.

Applicants choosing to take part in Option 1 will pay their share of the overall cost for application processing. Costs are summarized in the tables below and are based on how much water is requested in the application:

Summary Total Surface Water Costs	<0.05 CFS	0.05-1.00 CFS	>1.00 CFS
Base Surface Water Cost with Permit	$6,200	$7,535	$10,500

Summary Total Groundwater Costs	<50 GPM	50-200 GPM	>200 GPM
Base Groundwater Cost with Permit*	$9,471	$11,815	$14,219

*Prices do not include Ecology Direct and Staff Replacement Costs

Applicants for domestic uses choosing Option 2 will pay Chelan County to process their application and issue their water right permit.It is expected that the County’s process will cost $2,000.

Your wait time depends on where you are in line and which option you choose.

We expect to process ten applications or more each year (Option 1). Once work begins on your application, you will likely have a permit within a year, if approved. Investigation and development of the draft Report of Examination for the project will take about six to eight months, followed by a 30-day public comment period. We expect to issue its final decision within two weeks. The final decision is followed by a 30-day appeal period and issuance of your permit.

Chelan County’s processing time varies and is dependent upon whether a building permit is needed. Applicants can return to Option 1 at any time, but once the Reserve water is gone, Option 1 processing will stop.

Contact information

Andrea Reyes
Cost Reimbursement/Lead Contracts Specialist
andrea.reyes@ecy.wa.gov
509-406-6426