New Rules for Residential Wells in the Dungeness Valley would stifle new home construction
March 23, 2010
Citizen Review Online
Port Angeles, WA – Realtor and activist Steve Marble spoke to the Republican Women of Clallam County at their meeting about a rule about
The fear is that we have a new rule that requires meters to measure small withdrawals of groundwater with no measurable effect on fish populations, severe restrictions on the use of rural properties, and a mitigation plan that is still undefined. Meters required on individual wells, monitored by satellite, with the information stored somewhere, retrievable down to family daily consumption, seems like a high degree of intrusion and expense with very little environmental gain. |
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to be passed into law that would virtually halt construction in the Sequim-Dungeness area, unless well owners “mitigate” (pay extra – amount unknown) to drill their new wells.
Following is a synopsis of the history of the Rule, and how the new rules will affect individuals who wish to build their new homes with a well, as presented by Mr. Marble:
In 1945, the Ground Water Code authorized wells exempt from Department of Ecology (DOE) permits to allow small uses of water where community supply was not available.
Current law for Exempt wells: 5000 gal/day, domestic purposes, water ½ acre, stock watering, or industrial purposes. Does not need permit from DOE.
Water Resources Act of 1971 requires base flows be kept in the streams.
In the 1980’s, there were 62 Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) established.
The HB 2514 Watershed Act of 1998 creates committees and specifies a watershed planning process to set instream flows.
Instream Flow is a legal term that means a specific stream flow (typically measured in cubic feet per second) at a specific location for a defined time, typically following seasonal variations. Instream flows are sometimes defined as stream flows needed to preserve instream resources such as fish, wildlife and recreational opportunities.
An Instream Flow Rule, sometimes referred to as a “water management rule”, is designed to serve as a water right for fish habitat and other instream needs. Instream flows are set using computer models.
The Instream flow incremental model (IFIM) is the computer model used to set WRIA 18 instream flows and represents the maximum habitat area for a given species and are not based on seasonal, historic Dungeness River Flows.This works out to flow levels that DOE and WDFW [Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife] determine as optimal for fish habitat, rather than the flows the stream has been demonstrated to produce historically. (180cfs for Dungeness). Rarely, if ever, do the streams meet the the flows set by the Instream flow rule - so effectively they have imposed a moratoriam on new wells and therefore development.
The minimal flows that are the smallest amount of flow necessary to protect the resources are not considered.
Currently WRIA 18 is on course to adopt their in stream flow rule this fall. Ecology posted a review of the Dungeness River Instream Flow Rule on the website on Thanksgiving, and allowed until January 6 for public comment. We are now finishing a six week period during which Ecology has an internal economic analysis. Sometime soon, the Rule will be placed on the State Register; and a formal comment period will start a 180 day clock. The final Rule will be filed late this summer and will take effect 30 days later (September). Wells after that date will fall under the rule.
Except for a small reserve, the amount of water allocated for future development on each stream or sub-basin is limited to a set amount. For WRIA 18 the reserve =.8355cfs or 108 exempt 5000/gal/day wells. However, Ecology will allow only 150 gal/day per resident from the reserve for domestic purposes only. Lawns, gardens, and livestock watering will require purchasing mitigation credits.
After the reserves are depleted, anyone wishing to drill a well or use water beyond their 150gal/day will have to mitigate. This means buying a mitigation credit from the water bank or mitigation exchange envisioned. A computer model dubbed the mitigation calculator will determine the dollar amount required from the applicant before he is allowed to drill a well. Then the use will be restricted to indoor only unless the applicant pays for more mitigation credits.
The mitigation calculator will take into account the variables determining the well’s impact on the river: depth of well, proximity or distance from the river, degree of recharge - and the applicant will be charged accordingly. What will it cost? How long will it take? How can a believable economic analysis happen without a mitigation program in place?
Furthermore, the well owner will be required to buy a meter. Wells will be drilled into lower aquifers, so will cost more. Users must measure and report their usage to Ecology.
Wells drilled and not put to beneficial use will be restricted by the rule. Beneficial use is defined as issuance of final occupancy permit.
What does this rule mean to local business? The industry that provides housing for the population, according to the Economic Development Council, is 25% of the economy in Clallam County. The year 2009 was one of the worst years for real estate sales in two decades. Building permits in the county was 117. In Sequim, 13.
Taxable sales of home construction & home products comprise 17% of sales in Clallam County, according to WA Center for Real Estate Research. Owners of undeveloped property will take a big hit in value. The tax base will take a hit.
Residential wells are less than 1% of human water use. According to Ecology’s hydrologist, annual groundwater withdrawals in the Sequim area are estimated to be less than 5% of the annual groundwater recharge and some percentage of these withdrawals is returned to groundwater. Agriculture is the big user.
And in the past, when flood irrigation was the practice, much more water was withdrawn directly from the river than is used today. In those days, the salmon runs were legendary. Which begs the question: What impacts do ocean conditions, commercial and sport harvest, habitat loss due to stream impasse, have on salmon populations relative to the immeasurable amount of river flow reduction/habitat loss/salmon population loss caused by domestic wells? Why do Westend rivers flowing from the Park and from the West side of Vancouver Island exhibit the same declines as the other Puget Sound Rivers?
Are exempt well withdrawals truly causing significant impacts on stream flows? The presumption that all wells must be regulated to protect surface water flows is not supported by the specific hydrogeology in the Dungeness Valley.
What is the total amount of water flowing through the system? What percent of that number is used by exempt wells? By agriculture? What percentage of the water flows not to the surface water, but out to the Straits giving no beneficial use?
The fear is that we have a new rule that requires meters to measure small withdrawals of groundwater with no measurable effect on fish populations, severe restrictions on the use of rural properties, and a mitigation plan that is still undefined. Meters required on individual wells, monitored by satellite, with the information stored somewhere, retrievable down to family daily consumption, seems like a high degree of intrusion and expense with very little environmental gain.
What we may get is bigger bureaucracy, more regulation, less freedom and more money sucked out of the population to pay for it all. No more water will be delivered to the river. Salmon will not benefit.
Marble handed out a chart of Dungeness River flows from 1937-1948 and for the past 10 years, reflecting the similarities over the years in the flow. He pointed out that the Rule would shut down sustainable living and the ability to grow your own food. Small organic farmers have been leading the fight against the Instream Flow Rules in WRIA 17, Jefferson County. Skagit and Jefferson Counties have taken the matter to the courts.
We’ll continue to follow this issue through the summer.
Read previous reports on this issue:
2/26/2009 - Open Letter to Ecology disputes reasoning behind new restrictive water rules
4/5/2004 - Instream flow debate continues over Dungeness, Elwha Rivers
Tecnical Reports:
2/2005 - Chapter 3.4 - Instream Flow Recommendations
10/28/2002 - Modeling Uncertainty: Quicksand for Water Temperature Modeling - by USGS
WA State Dept. of Ecology - map of watersheds in Washington state and information about them.