Yakima Basin Cabin Owners

The cost of the water is based on what Ecology spent to buy and transfer the water right through cost reimbursement. Mitigation is $3,643 per ac-ft. The storage fee is based on $22 per ac-ft multiplied by the years left in the storage contract. 

Other fees include: 

• $350 contract fee 
• $500 per Report of Examination (if required). 

Seasonal primitive cabin use (1,000 gallons a year) = 0.001 afy (consumptive use) if mitigation needed. 
Many recreational cabins have limited indoor plumbing and use nearby surface water to periodically fill a small storage tank. Water is then gravity fed to wash basins and/or toilets. Seasonal water use is very limited, not exceeding 1,000 gallons per year (total). Assuming 30 percent of total use is consumptive, a purchase of 0.001 afy would be required. 

Seasonal use only (up to 105 days a year) = 0.01 afy (consumptive use) if mitigation needed. 
In a 2006 report to the Legislature, Ecology determined that on average, seasonal recreational cabin use is approximately 100 gallons per day or 0.03 afy (total). Assuming 30 percent of total use is consumptive, a purchase of 0.01 afy would be required.

Part-time year-round use (up to 210 days a year, 100 gallons a day) = 0.02 afy (consumptive use) if mitigation needed. 
Using similar logic, part-time year-round use of up to a maximum of 210 days a year (at 100 gpd) would require purchase of 0.02 afy. 

Full-time use (up to 200 gallons per day with no irrigation uses) = 0.06 afy (consumptive use) if mitigation needed. 
Ecology’s 2006 report also determined that full time/permanent residence with no irrigation uses up to 200 gpd (total use). This is approximately (rounding down) equal to 0.06 afy consumptive use.

• If your water right has been provisioned to meter and report your water use, these technical requirements will help you understand the types of meters and their uses, how to read your meter, and where to look for a vendor.
• We encourage water users to report their water using our online reporting system. Most water use data is required to be reported every year by January 31.
• For more information on water metering, please contact Kailey Sawyer, Metering Coordinator, by email at kailey.sawyer@ecy.wa.gov or by phone at 509-731-6332.

Waters of the state belong to the public and can't be owned by any individual or group. A water right certificate is permission from the state to use a certain amount of water, for a specific purpose, in a specific place.

Mitigation is the process of using an older (senior) water right to offset impacts of a newer (junior) water right. This helps ensure new users have a reliable water supply and are not shut off when water is limited. In the Yakima Basin, water rights issued after May 10, 1905, are junior. Junior water rights are curtailed almost every year, even in non-drought years.

You need a water right permit or certificate if you use—or plan to use—surface water from a river, stream, spring, or lake, even if it’s only part of the year. 

If you use water from a well and qualify for our mitigation program, you can use a small amount (5,000 gallons per day or less) for your cabin without a water right permit or certificate. 

If you have a water right newer than May 10, 1905, you need mitigation to reduce curtailment. Mitigation helps make sure your water use is backed by a senior water right so you can keep using water in most years. 

You can check Ecology’s online database to see if you have a water right. Or you can contact us —we’re happy to help you figure out what you have and whether you need mitigation. 

The Forest Service holds a few water rights that cover some cabin areas, but most cabins in the Yakima Basin are not included.  

If you are uncertain whether your cabin is covered by an existing water right, please contact us. We can help you figure out if there’s an existing water right, Forest Service or other, that you might use. If not, we can help qualifying cabins and camps get a water right permit and mitigation.