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General Information
The City of Olympia, Wash.,("City") is seeking to purchase water rights in the Lake St. Clair area. The City would use the water rights to meet the Department of Ecology's mitigation requirements for the new McAllister Wellfield facility. WestWater Research is assisting the City in its efforts to acquire Lake St. Clair area water rights and is also available to assist any potential seller.
The City's primary source of water is McAllister Springs, located in northeastern Thurston County. The City has decided to transfer its water rights at McAllister Springs to the new McAllister Wellfield for a variety of reasons. Studies conducted by the City estimate that the new wellfield may slightly impact the water level of Lake St. Clair. To prevent this potential effect, the City is seeking to purchase and retire existing water rights within the area of Lake St. Clair. The water that the City acquires will mitigate the possible effects of wellfield pumping on the lake level.
What is Mitigation?
The term 'mitigation' is defined as a way to moderate or replace, in this case, the effects of pumping water from the McAllister Wellfield on Lake St. Clair. The Washington Department of Ecology requires cities to mitigate the effects of their new water sources on surrounding surface water bodies. The City's preferred alternative to mitigate these possible effects on Lake St. Clair is to purchase and retire water rights connected to the lake.
How Much Water Will the City Need to Purchase?
Early estimates indicate that the new wells at the McAllister Wellfield could reduce the average water level in Lake St. Clair by approximately 3 inches. The new wells at McAllister Wellfield are estimated to decrease flow into Lake St. Clair by a maximum of 0.12 cubic feet per second (cfs). This rate equates to an annual quantity of 87 acre-feet (AF). The City of Olympia will purchase up to this quantity to meet the mitigation needs required by the State of Washington.
How Much Will the City Pay Water Right Holders?
The price will be based on fair market value. The City of Olympia will consider all offers and has not established a fixed price. Values will be established during negotiations between the water right holder and the City. There is no established market for water rights in the Olympia area. Price will be based on a number of factors including benefits the water provides to Lake St. Clair, quantity of water available for sale, and age of the water right. WestWater Research maintains a comprehensive database of water right transactions in the state, including the Olympia area and will be able to assist landowners in determining the quantity of water they have to sell.
What Type of Water Rights is the City Interested in Purchasing?
The City is interested in any water right located in the general vicinity of Lake St. Clair. This includes groundwater rights located near the lake and surface water rights that originate in Lake St. Clair or its tributary streams. Additional research will determine if a water right can satisfy the City's mitigation requirements. Some of these include:
- The water right must have been used at least once in the last five years.
- No period of five consecutive years has occurred on the property without water use since the water right was issued.
- The water right must be within the Lake St. Clair subbasin for a surface water right and must be within hydrologic connection to Lake St. Clair and its tributaries if it is a groundwater right.
Interested Parties
The City would like to hear from anyone who holds a water right near Lake St. Clair interested in learning more about a possible sale of their water right to the City. Please contact Ryland Moore, transaction manager for WestWater Research, at 360-695-5233 for more information or to schedule an informational meeting. WestWater is available to assist interested parties, at no expense to them, in researching and gathering water rights information and documents. Some of the basic information that WestWater staff will need from the landowner can be found on our Landowner Checklist. This information will allow WestWater Research to better help landowners determine how much water they have available to sell.
To learn more about the project, view the following links:
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