Skagit water management history

Background

The Skagit River Basin Instream Resources Protection Program rule (WAC 173-503) went into effect on April 14, 2001, to protect essential river functions and senior water rights. This rule was the outcome of an open public process with a diverse group, that began in 1994 with research on the Cultus Mountain tributaries of the Skagit River.

In 1996, State agencies and local partners in the Skagit River basin signed the 1996 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Regarding the Skagit River, to create a comprehensive water management program in the Skagit. The signatories of the MOA formed the Skagit River Instream Flow Committee to help guide the studies necessary to make instream flow recommendations. As part of that effort, in 1999 an independent consultant, Duke Engineering and Services, Inc., was hired to produce a technical report, proposing minimum flow levels necessary to protect river health. This report served as the basis for the Skagit River instream flow rule.

Skagit Public Utility District (PUD) led these early efforts to estimate future out-of-stream water uses and assess their impact on fish. Since then, research and planning for water in the Skagit River basin has been a multi-organization effort, which includes:

• City of Anacortes
• Skagit County
• Skagit PUD
• Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe (known collectively as the Skagit System Cooperative)
• Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
• Washington Department of Ecology
• Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW)
• The general public and interested stakeholders

See the science behind the instream flow rule.

In 2006, in response to a Skagit County lawsuit claiming that the rule did not provide adequate guarantees of future water for Skagit property owners, Ecology amended the rule. The amendment established reservations of surface and groundwater for future out-of-stream uses that were not subject to the instream flows. The sizes of the reservations were limited to amounts that WDFW's and our fish biologists determined would not substantially harm long-term fish survival.

Reservations in individual subbasins provided uninterruptible water supplies for new agricultural, residential, commercial/industrial, and livestock uses. They were effective as of the original date of the rule, April 14, 2001. The Swinomish Tribe challenged the reservations on the grounds that the reservations compromised adequate protection for fish.

Supreme Court decision and its impact on water use in the Skagit basin

On Oct. 3, 2013, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v. Department of Ecology (PDF) that Ecology exceeded its authority in establishing the water reservations. The rule reverted to its original text from 2001. This meant that year-round water uses that began after the rule took effect in 2001 would begin to be interrupted whenever streamflows were below the regulatory instream flow levels, including groundwater permit-exempt wells being used for domestic purposes.

The ruling did not affect water uses established before April 14, 2001 since they were senior to the instream flow rule.

2001 – 2013 Skagit groundwater uses are secure while water supply solutions are developed

The Swinomish ruling created legal uncertainty for the water use of hundreds of homes and businesses established after the adoption of the 2001 rule. The Swinomish Tribe agreed that existing water uses should not be curtailed while mitigation options were developed.

Since the court decision, we sought water supply solutions for those homes and businesses affected by the ruling. By 2020, we secured sufficient water to offset the water uses developed after the rule.

• Read more about Skagit water availability options.