Water Rights and Conservation
Whether on public or private property, the waters of Washington State belong to the public and are governed by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Individuals, groups, municipalities, etc. can apply for water rights for “beneficial use,” which includes things like irrigation, domestic water use and power generation.
Although the original intent is a good one – protecting the quality, quantity and availability of water both for people and the natural environment – the State’s rules regarding water rights have, in a sense, overcomplicated and prevented some attempts at water conservation. A prime example of this is rainwater collection. Theoretically, rainwater collected in barrels or cisterns on one’s property in fact belongs to the State, and a water right is required to make use of it.
Then
We considered installing an underground cistern when we were doing site work but when we looked into what was permissible we didn’t come up with a whole lot. Some say that Ecology will look the other way if the water collected in an underground cistern falls under a certain amount, but the figure we heard at the time we were considering a cistern was around 600 gallons. That’s really not very much. For context, the average home uses about 300 gallons a day. A production garden large enough to feed your family would require more than that on a daily basis during the summer. It didn’t make sense to us to spend a good chunk of change to install something that would hardly meet any of our needs, so we didn’t.
…And Now
Just a little too late for our project, the Department of Ecology recently clarified it’s stance on rainwater collection with a new policy, released in October 2009. The purpose of the policy is twofold – (1) to clarify that a water right is not required for on-site storage and use of rainwater collected from rooftops or guzzlers; and (2) to make clear the Department of Ecology’s intent to regular said storage and use of rooftop or guzzler collected rainwater if and when the cumulative impact of such rainwater harvesting is likely to negatively affect instream values or existing water rights.
The Department’s Rooftop/Guzzler Collected Rainwater Policy is as follows:
“The on-site storage and/or beneficial use of rooftop of guzzler collected rainwater is not subject to the permit process of RCW 90.03. If and when the department determines that rooftop or guzzler rainwater harvesting systems are likely to negatively affect instream values or existing water rights, local restrictions may be set in place to govern subsequent new systems. To qualify as rooftop collected rainwater, the roof collecting the rainwater must be part of a fixed structute above the ground with a primary purpose other than the collection of rainwater for beneficial use. A guzzler is a device used to catch and store rainwater and provide drinking water for wildlife, livestock or birds.”
If Only
If we had this policy in hand a few months ago we may well have gone ahead with installing a large underground cistern. But such is the game, sometimes the timing just doesn’t work out. An above ground cistern and/or rain barrels are still an option. We’ll see how things pan out down the road.
