What is the YAKIMA COUNTY WATER RESOURCE SYSTEM (YCWRS) and what do they have to do with your water rights?

Perhaps you’ve heard that there are new water rights regulations in Yakima County as of January 2018. If you’re wondering what this means for you and your well drilling project we’ve got it all broken down for you here! In years past if you lived in a rural area and wanted to drill a well on your property for basic household use and didn’t use more than 5,000 gallons of water per day you didn’t need a permit from the county. But with the new water rights regulations that the Yakima County Commissioners voted on in January 2018 that has changed.
The new regulations say that you must obtain a permit from the Yakima County Water Resource System (YCWRS), who hold senior water rights in the county. And you can only get a YCWRS domestic well permit for a permit-exempt well at the same time you get a residential building permit or a residential land use permit. Part of the process when you apply for the YCWRS domestic well permit is an eligibility review where they evaluate the water availability of the property and the proposed use of the well. The only properties that will be approved are the ones where there is YCWRS water available and where the building or land use permits are for residential purposes. The well also needs to meet the water bearing zone depth requirements. It is the responsibility of the property owner seeking the permit to supply YCWRS with a well report meeting the well depth requirement before the permit will be issued.The one-time permit connection fee for these previously permit-exempt wells is $1150.00. Add to that a meter installation fee of $650.00 for ¾” -1” sized meter, plus a $35.00 quarterly service fee, and a water consumption charge that varies with how much water you use.

The current usage rates for a YCWRS domestic well in 2018 are:

$0.36/100cf (first 17,000cf)
$1.86/100cf (from 17,000 to 50,000cf)
$2.48/100cf (from 50,000 to 100,000cf)
$3.72/100cf (from 100,000 to 200,000cf)
$4.34/100cf (over 200,000cf)
This means that if you use 15,000cf of water per quarter your usage rate will be $54.00 plus the $35.00 service fee = $89.00 for each quarter. The country will send out quarterly billing statements to YCWRS domestic well owners. Using the example above the total cost for the first year of a new YCWRS domestic well would be: $2156.00 this amount includes: the one-time permit connection fee ($1150), meter installation ($650), quarterly service fee ($35), and quarterly water usage fees ($89). Each year after that the annual cost will be $356.00, billed in quarterly installments of $89 each.
So, there you have it! These new regulations were put into place so that Yakima County would comply with the new state level requirements.

Apple Valley Well Drilling
2260 N Wenas Rd.
Selah, WA 98942