Watershed Management Plan - Mason County

Key Issues and Options – Water Quantity
Appendix
B
storage is centralized, water systems may need to be connected via interties
to be able to draw from the stored supply. For example, if water was
available from Lake Cushman or from an aquifer in a basin on the west side
of Hood Canal, then water systems along the south shore of Hood Canal
(the South Shore sub-basin) would need to be connected to this supply.
The WRIA 16 Planning Unit and water suppliers in the watershed could
begin developing adaptive capacity to prepare for summer water shortages,
events that are likely to increase under climate change. This capacity could
include seasonal storage (perhaps including groundwater recharge) and
water-system connections, as well as the use of seasonal forecasts to help
manage if, when, and how seasonal storage is made available to water
suppliers throughout WRIA 16.
Issue: Water Export
As water supply shortages intensify in other Western Washington
watersheds, WRIA 16 could face pressure for water export, or providing
water to other communities outside the watershed’s boundaries.
Following is an option the Planning Unit and its partners could pursue to
manage or respond to possible pressure for exporting water from WRIA
16.
Option 24.
Create policy prohibiting out-of-basin transfer or
export of water from WRIA 16
Most water providers in Washington withdraw water from streams or
groundwater sources near the customers they serve. However, as
competition for water resources intensifies in the coming years, it is
possible that water providers could look to more distant sources. A
humorous (and largely impractical) example of such an approach reported
in the media has been the idea of towing icebergs to warm climates from
the polar regions. While this particular method (i.e. icebergs) is not a
concern for WRIA 16, other water providers are – and could continue to be
– interested in WRIA 16’s water resources for either municipal supplies or
bottled water. The Planning Unit may therefore wish to consider adopting
a policy prohibiting out-of-basin transfer or export of water from WRIA
16.
Issue: Permit-Exempt Wells
Water-right exemptions (e.g., permit-exempt wells) provide little or no
incentive for water conservation. Most notably, groundwater use up to
5,000 gallons per day is exempt for domestic purposes, stock watering,
industrial purposes, and watering a lawn to one-half acre in size. There are
an estimated 2,460 people served by such “permit-exempt wells” in WRIA
16 (Golder Associates, 2003) that have no legal – and little financial –
reason to use less water.
Final Plan for County Adoption – May 11, 2006 page 107