Director of the Division of Drinking Water. Washington Stat

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Water Rights and Water Utility Planning

Gregg Grunenfelder Director of the Division of
Drinking Water
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Overview
Division of Drinking Water

• What is a Water System Plan?
• Public Health Impacts
• The Water System Plan and Ecologys Role in the
  Planning Process
• Need to Harmonize Water Management Structures
• Policy Considerations

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Division of Drinking Water
The mission of the Department of Health
Division of Drinking Water is to protect the
health of the people of Washington State by
ensuring safe and reliable drinking water
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Division of Drinking Water
What is a WSP?
The WSP is the utilitys foundation whereby the
utility takes a comprehensive look at all of its
needs, desires and statutory requirements and
charts out a plan of action for achieving those
needs, desires and requirements.
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Division of Drinking Water
What is a WSP?

• A critical characteristic of the Water System
  Plan should be the alignment of utility planning
  to land use and GMA planning.

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Division of Drinking Water

• Water System planning is considered essential to
  the fundamental purpose of the drinking water
  program

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Public Health Impacts Related to Planning and
Water Rights
Division of Drinking Water

• Public Health Emergencies
• Source Reliability
• Access to the highest quality source.
• Affordability and Sustainability
• Water Use Efficiency

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Ecologys Role
Division of Drinking Water

• Interagency MOU
• Ecology Reviews
• Service Area
• Planning Date and Demand Forecast
• Conservation Program
• Water Right Analysis
• Improvement Program (water right issue only)
• Interties

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Ecologys Role
Division of Drinking Water

• February 2002 Revision
• Recent court decisions made implementation
  difficult.
• 60 days means 60 days.
• Health will only condition or withhold plan
  approval for water rights concerns when Ecology
  initiates an appealable action.
• Approval letter includes a disclaimer in regard
  to water rights.

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Currently the System Is Fragmented
Division of Drinking Water

• Utility Planning is linked to Land Use Planning
  planning through the WSP, but that link needs to
  be stronger
• Water Rights are reviewed within the WSP process,
  but there often is no flexibility to allow
  utilities to effectively manage their systems.
• Growth is occurring when water rights are
  inadequate.

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Division of Drinking Water

• Water regulations and statutes administered by
  the Health and Ecology must be harmonized with
  each other as well as with the Growth Management
  Act in a manner that most effectively meets safe
  drinking water, water resource management, and
  growth management purposes.

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Legislative Direction
Division of Drinking Water

• 90.03.386
• Directs Ecology and Health to coordinate
  procedures to ensure compliance and consistency
  with WSP
• 90.54.10
• Encourages comprehensive water resource planning
  and development of regional water supply systems.
  
• Preserving adequate water supplies for human
  domestic need is stated as a fundamental.

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Consequences for WSP Program
Division of Drinking Water

• Fear of losing water rights or facing other
  related liabilities
• Inability to implement plans
• WSPs do not get submitted
• All the public health benefits related to plan
  development and implementation are lost.

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Linking the WSP to Water Right Flexibility
Division of Drinking Water

• Many legislative proposals have recommended
  weaving the WSP more tightly with water right
  decision.
• While DOH generally supports this concept, there
  a number of broad policy consideration that must
  be resolved to make such measures successful

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Policy Considerations
Division of Drinking Water

• What is the broader public policy that would
  guide such a step?
• Does the WSP lose its focus on public health and
  shift to environmental concerns?
• What is the appropriate role for DOH in water
  resource management?
• How do we deal with the continuing shift in water
  resource laws resulting from court decisions?

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Conclusions
Division of Drinking Water

• Existing laws, regulations and policies are
  having unintended consequences.
• Health, water resource management and growth
  management statutes must be harmonized.
• New direction should take advantage of the WSP
  process to find solutions to utility water
  resource management problems.
• Such steps must be guided by good public policy
  that addresses the role of DOH in the states
  water management scheme.