Ecology v Acquavella

The Yakima County Superior Court entered a final decree in this water rights adjudication on May 9, 2019.The final decree was appealed by multiple parties to the Washington Supreme Court. The court issued a decision on these consolidated appeals on November 18, 2021.

State of Washington, Department of Ecology v. James J. Acquavella et al., No. 99373-4 - Nov. 18, 2021

Also called the Yakima River Basin adjudication, the case prioritizes about 2,300 water rights in the Yakima Basin including Benton, Kittitas, and Yakima counties, and a small portion of Klickitat County.

The final decree and final schedule of rights

Starting in 1989, the court issued a series of Conditional Final Orders as work was completed in subbasins and other pathways. Superior Court Judge F. James Gavin entered the Final Decree in the case on May 9, 2019. The Final Decree integrates all of the Conditional Final Orders entered in the case, other orders governing administration of the waters of the Yakima Basin, and the Final Schedule of Rights.

Final Decree - May 9, 2019
Final schedule of rights

In 1977, we filed an action in the Yakima County Superior Court to determine the legality of all claims for use of surface water in the Yakima River Basin. The court case, Ecology v. James J. Acquavella, et. al., led to a thorough examination of evidence verifying each claim for the right to use surface water in the basin. The court issued its final decree in this case on May 9, 2019. This final decree defines the relative priorities of all surface water rights in the Yakima Basin under Washington’s “first in time, first in right” water law doctrine. Closure of this decades-long adjudication settles old conflicts, reduces future conflicts and protects and increases value of confirmed rights.

This has been the largest and longest water rights adjudication in the state’s history. It has long been known that water rights are over-appropriated in the Yakima Basin, so it was important to establish who has water rights and the relative priority dates and quantities legally available to water users. Most of the water rights reviewed during the adjudication date back to before 1917 when Washington’s first surface-water law was adopted. The adjudication provides clarity and certainty for the relative priorities of all surface water rights in the basin, which is essential for water resources use, protection, and planning, and for water right transfers.

Over the last 42 years, more than 4,000 claims to water were thoroughly reviewed by Ecology, the court, and other parties. Claims ranged from smaller individual uses to several major claims for irrigation districts and cities, and for federally-based water rights such as Indian tribes and the U.S. Forest Service. The geographic scale of the adjudication stretches across the Yakima Basin’s 31 tributary watersheds comprising 6,150 square miles, spanning large portions of Kittitas, Yakima, and Benton counties,and the lands of the Yakama Nation.

Resources and important documents

The conditional final orders for each subbasin, which will be folded into the final decree by reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

The final decree confirms a Final Schedule of Rights across the Yakima Basin and accounts for all claims to Yakima Basin surface waters, including those made by farmers, municipalities, homeowners, and tribes and their members. These confirmed water rights identify the amount of water that may legally be used, where it may be used, for what purpose (irrigation/domestic/industrial, etc.), and the rights’ priority (by date) compared to other water uses. Some water rights may describe special provisions and limitations.

Name errors

Certificated water rights generally are appurtenant to the land of their place of use (meaning they are attached to the legal description of the property). Whoever owns land with a valid water right has the right to use the water as described on that water right. Names on these adjudicated certificates reflect the court’s records as of August 10, 2018, and cannot be changed again.

Ministerial errors/typos

Please contact us if you believe there is a ministerial error or typographical error on your water right certificate. We will review the error as reported and determine whether the issue is ministerial in nature. We may issue a superseding certificate for a ministerial error. Where a new certificate may not be warranted, we will ensure that a memo to the file is written for minor errors. If the error is deemed not ministerial in nature, we will provide technical assistance as to how the water right might be changed to accommodate the proposed amendments.

If the property has been divided, we will follow policy guidance on determining how the water right must be apportioned. These divisions must be consistent with the historic beneficial use of the water right, and must have the signatures of all parties, unless other allowable documentation can be provided:

Ensuring proper signature on applications and forms — GUID-2040

A Request for Administrative Confirmation of a division of a Water Right should be filed, with all property owners’ signatures where possible. Please contact us to get information on the proper forms and how to proceed.

If you have sold all of your property, please contact us so we can update our records. The names on the certificate will not be changed but having current records helps us to administer water rights.

Contact information

Leigh Bedell
Adjudications
leigh.bedell@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-6017

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