Washington State promotes
mining water from ancient aquifers
-- disregards lessons of the past and 5,000 gallons per day limit on family wells --
State creates loophole giving unlimited water to factory farms
In 1946, one year after the Legislature enacted the groundwater code, the Department of Conservation published an overview of the groundwater code, which described the groundwater exemption statute as:
INDIVIDUAL DOMESTIC SUPPLY EXEMPT. The Ground Water Code exempts from administrative control the withdrawal of public ground water for any purpose where the quantity is less than 5,000 gallons per day. This exemption was provided to relieve the small water user of the formalities and costs of obtaining water for his household and domestic needs. Five thousand gallons per day will supply ample water for household use for a family, their garden and lawn irrigation, and stock water. The Department of Conservation interpreted the statute as limiting all exempt uses, including stock-watering, to 5000 gpd.
The agency believed the statute's purpose was to supply “small water users” with water, and the agency considered 5000 gpd an “ample” amount for such users. The Department of Conservation's interpretation limiting all exempt uses to 5000 gpd was consistent with the Bureau of Reclamation's estimation that maximum water use for small family farms would not exceed 1500 gpd.
for more on the legislative history behind Washington’s permit exempt wells and to read CELP’s comments to the County Water Board, click here.