2020-02-10-minutes-public-works-study-session

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KITTITAS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT STUDY SESSION DATE: February 10, 2020 TOPIC: Water Resource Program Objectives and Acquisition Priorities ACTION REQUESTED: Staff direction LEAD STAFF: Arden Thomas RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff to develop and implement a work program that advances the identified objectives and is informed by the acquisition priority framework. BRIEFING SUMMARY: • Kittitas County has successfully developed and implemented a program to require that ground water for new domestic uses are both legally and physically available and has established a public water bank to improve access to legal water supplies. • The water resources program can build upon these successes to meet additional needs, including potential domestic uses that are in red -zone areas, potential long- term term needs of water districts for legal supply, and drought -year responses. • Staff proposes a water right acquisition prioritization framework that would inform decisions about acquisition opportunities. BACKGROUND: On May 15, 2014 Kittitas County entered into a settlement agreement with Ecology, Futurewise, the Kittitas County Conservation Coalition, and Ridge Association. Kittitas County was centrally interested in eliminating curtailment risk of exempt well users and securing water rights for continued use within Kittitas County. In this Settlement Agreement, Kittitas County agreed to establish regulations to require long-term mitigation requirements for new uses of groundwater and to secure mitigation for historic use. As identified in the Settlement Agreement, the County could work with Ecology and other Yakima River basin stakeholders to develop a public water bank. In the six years since this agreement was signed, Kittitas County has successfully adopted an adequate water supply determination process for the legal availability of water in its building permit process and established a public water bank with sufficient water to meet 20 years of growth projection. The Settlement Agreement also contemplated that there may be options and strategies that complemented the direct acquisition of senior water rights, that could mitigate for new ground water uses. The water resources program is now at a stage where it should explore these alternative approaches with the aim of expanding service of into remaining red zone areas. Page 1 of 2 PUBLIC WORKS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT