Yakima Loses Water Rights In Court Ruling

A judge has issued a preliminary report that would reduce Yakima’s claims to surface water for irrigation and domestic use and severely limit the city’s options for meeting future water needs.

In addition to cutting the city’s existing rights by a third, the 176-page report by Judge Pro Tem Walter Stauffacher of Yakima rejects outright an amount of water the city had hoped to set aside to provide for future growth.

The massive 20-year-old Yakima County Superior Court case attempts to bring some certainty to all surface-water rights in the three-county Yakima River basin. Each right confirmed through the proceeding will have a state-certified amount and priority date which allows each separate right to be compared with all others.

Barring almost-certain appeals, the adjudication case could be completed within two years.

City officials say the city will have an opportunity to submit further evidence before a final report is issued and can file objections to its conclusions. A hearing on those objections is scheduled March 12.

“The court did not confirm all the claims of the city, but much of the water the city uses and relies on was confirmed,” said City Attorney Ray Paolella.