Planning and Engineering
NEW:
Supreme Court Rules on Municipal Water Law -
On October 28, 2010, the Washington State Supreme Court affirmed the
constitutionality of the Municipal Water Law (MWL). The Court upheld
the sections of the law that were invalidated on June 11, 2008 by the
King County Superior Court.
These sections were the definitions of municipal water supplier and
municipal water supply purposes, and the “in good standing” status of
water rights based on system capacity rather than water use. The
Supreme Court found that these sections do not violate separation of
powers or facially violate the right to due process.
The decision means that municipal water
suppliers are all Group A community water systems with 15 or more
residential connections and Group A non-community systems that
provide water for residential uses (such as bathing, cooking, and
cleaning) to a non-residential population for 25 or more people for
60 or more days a year.
Water systems that meet the municipal water
supplier definition will now have more water right flexibility and
certainty, but they also need to include more information in their
water system plan or small water system management program.
The guidance documents and fact sheets below
will help municipal water suppliers understand the benefits of MWL
and comply with the additional requirements for their planning
documents.
NEW:
Impact to
privately owned water systems with a plan under review
If you are a privately owned system with a
planning document currently under review, contact your
ODW regional planner to
discuss what additional information you need to submit before we can
approve your document.
At a minimum, here is what must be included:
-
Documentation that your plan is consistent
with local government plans (WAC
246-290-108). This is required for water system plans
only, unless you request to expand your water right place of use
through your small water system management program. See
Local Government Consistency Review Checklist (PDF 35 KB)
-
Identified retail service area (WAC
246-290-100(4)(a)(iv)). This is required for water system
plans only. The retail service area is where municipal water
suppliers have a duty to serve. See
Municipal Water Law - Duty to Provide Service Requirement (PDF 120 KB)
-
Completed Water Use Efficiency Program
(WAC
246-290-810). This is required for water system
plans and small water system management programs. Additional
information will be available in the Third Edition of the WUE
Guidebook (DOH 331-375) coming in January.
NEW:
Impact to privately owned systems with
a plan approved between June 11, 2008 and October 28, 2010
If you are a privately owned system that
received ODW approval of your water system plan or small water
system management program between June 11, 2008 and October 28,
2010, your approval may have been impacted by the lower court’s 2008
ruling. If you want to request an amended approval, contact your
ODW regional planner to
discuss what additional information you must submit in order for us
to re-approve your planning document.
At a minimum, here is what must be included:
-
Documentation that your plan is consistent
with local government plans (WAC
246-290-108). This is required for water system plans
only, unless you request to expand your water right place of use
through your small water system management program. See
Local Government Consistency Review Checklist (PDF 35 KB)
-
Identified retail service area (WAC
246-290-100(4)(a)(iv)). This is required for water system
plans only. The retail service area is where municipal water
suppliers have a duty to serve. See
Municipal Water Law - Duty to Provide Service Requirement
(PDF 120 KB)
-
Completed Water Use Efficiency Program
(WAC
246-290-810). This is required for water system
plans and small water system management programs. Additional
information will be available in the Third Edition of the WUE
Guidebook (DOH 331-375) coming in January.
-
Additional information may be required
depending on the situation. Contact your ODW regional planner to
discuss before submitting additional material.
Note: We will charge a review fee
for all requests to amend a previous approval.
Guidance:
Fact Sheets:
Note: The Municipal
Water Law: Interim Planning Guidance document (331-256) is no longer
effective. It was developed to explain the interim requirements
water systems must meet to gain approval for their water system
plans and small water system management programs.
For More Information
Planning and
Engineering Requirements
Linda Kildahl,
Rule Implementation (360) 236-3186
Water Use Efficiency
Michael Dexel, Rule
Implementation (360) 236-3154
|
