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INVESTIGATOR'S REPORT Water Right Application No.: CS4-01"141sb10; Kittitas County Investigator: Meghan O'Brien, Aspect Consulting Reviewed by: Kelsey Collins BACKGROUND This report serves as the written findings of fact concerning Water Right Change Application Number C54-01141sb10. On October 30,2017, Kittitas County filed an application to change a surface water right from irrigation to instrearn flow and mitigation and the place of use to Cooke Creek, Cherry Creek, Wilson Creek, and the Yakima River, The county is requesting to change Yakima Superior Court Claim 01141 (draft certificate S4-84509-J). The county also lntends to enroll the instream flow right into Ecology's Trust Water Right Program (TWRP). Kittitas County is under contract to purchase the subject water right from current owners James and Hazel Treat (together, "Treat"l, and is seeking this change so the water right can be used as part of its mitigation programs (see below). The contract also provides for Treat to continue irrigating when the county ls not relying on the mitigation for their programs, and that Treat will retain equity interest in nine (9) acre-feet of consumptive water, At the time of this report, a companion application, 54-35979, was filed requesting to temporarily irrigate according to the purchase and sale agreement between Kittitas County and Treat. The county's mitigation programs are as follows: Water Banking Program: Under Kittitas County Code (KCC) 13.35.027(2l,, all new uses of ground water within the Yakima River Basin must show legal and physical access to water. These users seeking building permits must provide proof of a legal water right or obtain a mitigation certificate from Kittitas County. The county's program is evolving as water rights are acquired and the impacts of pumping groundwater in all locations across Kittitas County becomes better understood. Back Mitigation Program: Kittitas County is also working to acquire offsetting senior water rights for back mitigation, i'e,, to provide mitigation for domestic uses of ground water that were established {1) under the permit exemption allowed by RCW 90.44.050 or prior to modern permitting requirements, and (2) prior to implementation of KCC 13.35.027. The quantity required by Kittitas County to achieve this goal is 800 ac-ftlyr of consumptively used water rights. lt is the intent of Kittitas County to acquire water rights deemed adequate for this purpose, place them in the TWRP for instream flows, and to hold them in perpetuity. Kittitas County willwork with Ecology to add the subject right to an existing Trust Water Right Agreement or negotiate a new arrangement to ensure the right is held in Ecology's TWRP and how much and where the mitigation can be used. As forTreat, any future use of this right for mitigation will require a new authorization or agreement with Ecology' Change Report of Examination Page 5 of 15 Water Right File No. CS4-0114lsb10