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Ecology home | Water supply | Streamflow restoration | WRIA 8 Cedar/Sammamish Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Committee

Last revised: April 8, 2022

The Streamflow Restoration Act (RCW 90.94) is a new law affecting water resource management in Washington State. The law, passed in 2018, helps protect water resources while providing water for families in rural Washington. 

Read more about the Streamflow Restoration law

The law directs local planning groups in 15 watersheds to develop or update plans that offset potential impacts to instream flows associated with new permit-exempt domestic water use.

• If you would like to receive notices about Watershed Restoration and Enhancement planning, subscribe to the email list.

 

 

How the law affects this watershed

As of Jan. 19. 2018, new permit-exempt wells for domestic use in this watershed are:

• allowed 950 gallons per day as the maximum annual average (350 gallons per day during drought).
• subject to a $500 fee.

Please contact your county for more information on these standards as they may change in the final watershed plan or any potential rulemaking.

This watershed:

• has an instream flow rule that does not regulate permit-exempt wells.
• is directed by Section 203 of the new law to adopt a watershed restoration and enhancement plan by June 30, 2021.

The Department of Ecology offers free language services. We can provide information written in your preferred language and interpreters over the phone. For more information, please contact Stephanie Potts at 425 649-7138.

WRE Planning Update

Despite hard work and commitment, the WRIA 8 Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Committee did not locally approve their watershed plan and submit to Ecology for review before the June 30, 2021 adoption deadline. See the February 2021 meeting summary for more information. The streamflow restoration law required the Committee’s watershed plan to be locally approved and adopted by Ecology by June 30, 2021 or an alternative pathway for plan adoption is initiated.

Starting in July 2021, the Department of Ecology began to prepare a plan as directed by RCW 90.94.030(3)(h) for future adoption. As of March 1, 2022 the Salmon Recovery Funding Board is undertaking its review of the final draft plan prepared by Ecology. There is not a role for the WRIA 8 Committee in this process so the Committee does not have additional meetings scheduled. For more details on plan finalization, please see our streamflow restoration planning update or subscribe to the email list.

Committee Draft WRE Plan for Local Review

The chair distributed the draft watershed restoration and enhancement plan for review by entities on the Committee in November 2020. The Committee’s final vote took place in February 2021 however the Committee did not locally approve their plan.  As Ecology develops the final draft plans, it will follow, as the committees did, the law, POL 2094 and the NEB guidance. Ecology will also consider all available information, including draft materials developed by the committees.

The Committee draft plan, appendices, and supporting resources are linked here:

•  Final Draft Plan
  • Appendix B: Glossary
  • Appendix D: Approved and signed operating principles
  • Appendix E: Subbasin Technical Memo (v8/20/20)
  • Appendix F: PE Well Projection Technical Memo (v11/16/20)
  • Appendix G: Consumptive Use Technical Memo (v11/17/20)
  • Appendix H: Project Descriptions

• Plan cover memo
• Plan review timeline
• WRIA 8 Committee brochure
• Streamflow program overview
• Final NEB guidance
• Streamflow Restoration Policy and Interpretive Statement

Meetings

This committee had until June 2021 to complete plans that estimate the 20 year consumptive use from new permit-exempt wells and identify projects to offset that consumptive use. The committee does not have additional meetings scheduled.

2021

February 25 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

2020

November 18 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

October 29 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

September 24 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

August 27 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

July 23 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

June 25 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - WebEx only

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

May 28 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

March 26 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• WebEx Tips
• Meeting Summary
• Agenda
• Meeting Materials
• Ecology Memo re: WRE Plan Development, Review and Committee Approval
• Top Policy Recommendations from 2/27 Meeting

 February 27 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Washington State Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

January 28 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168.
This is a joint meeting with the Duwamish-Green (WRIA 9) Committee. 

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary
• Meeting Materials
  • Irrigated Area Comparability Study Memo
  • Policy and Regulatory Actions Discussion Guide
  • Consumptive Use Technical Memo - draft (v1/27)
  • Subbasin Technical Memo - draft (v1/27)
  • GeoEngineers - Estimating Water Offset from Habitat projects presentation*
  • LDC - Rural Development presentation*

2019

December 10 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Washington State Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008.

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary
• Meeting Materials
  • Template WRE Plan Outline - Draft
  • WRE Plan - Local Approval Process Form
  • Projects Discussion Guide
  • Adaptive Management Discussion Guide 
• Additions to Project Inventory

October 24 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Washington State Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008.

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Growth projections memo - draft
  • Consumptive use memo - draft
  • Climate change discussion guide
  • Project screening criteria memo - draft
  • Project solicitation handout
  • Consumptive Use Calculator (v5)

September 26 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Washington State Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008.

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Subbasin proposal – for vote
  • WRIA 8 Growth Projections spreadsheet
  • Growth projections methods summary
  • Growth projections maps
    • WRIA 8 Distribution of Projected Permit-Exempt Wells 2018 - 2038
    • WRIA 8 Estimated New, Domestic Permit Exempt Well Potential
    • Web Map - under "Draft Growth Forecasts" layer
  • Net Ecological Benefit Guidance overview - presentation 
  • Salmon habitat restoration in WRIA 8 - presentation 

August 22 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Brightwater Center, 22505 State Route 9 SE, Woodinville, WA

The Committee will meet from 9:30-11:00 a.m. followed by a presentation on reclaimed water and tour of the Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Facility from 11:00-1:00 p.m.

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
• WRIA 8 Growth Projections summary table and methods – draft
• King County historic growth maps
• Snohomish County historic growth and future capacity maps
• King County WRIA 8 subbasin proposal
• Reclaimed water presentation

July No WREC meeting

June 27 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Washington State Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008.

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Water right acquisitions presentation
  • Water right acquisitions handout
  • Snohomish County rural capacity analysis – preliminary results

May 28 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. King County Treatment Plan, Black River ROom, 1200 Monster Road S.W. Renton, WA 98507. This is a joint meeting with the Duwamish-Green (WRIA 9) Committee. (Note: We are meeting on a Tuesday and not the normal fourth Thursday of the month)

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Consumptive Use Discussion Guide
  • Updated committee calendar and proposed meeting schedule
  • Consumptive Water Use Estimates 
  • Growth Projections Discussion Guide

 April 25 9:30 am to 12:30 p.m.

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• GeoEngineers web map
• Subbasin proposals – presentation 
• Subbasin proposal from Carla and Dan– map
• Subbasin proposal from Snohomish county – map
• Methods for growth projections – presentation 
• Reference maps: 
  • Map of UGA and municipal watershed
  • Map of Ecology well logs for WRIA 8: 1998-2007 well log basin map, North Map and zoomed South Map, and 2008-2018 well log basin map, zoomed north map and zoomed south map.
• Recommendations for Water Use EstimatesMeeting materials:

March 28 

• Agenda and land use planning presentation topics
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
• Updated committee calendar and proposed meeting schedule
• Growth Management Act Planning in King County - presentation
• King County Water Availability and Permitting Study
• King County Water Availability and Permitting Study - presentation
• King County Water Service Requirements
• Snohomish County Land Use Planning and Population Projections - presentation
• Snohomish County Southwest UGA Boundary Planning Study

February 28 

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Approved Operating Principles
• Meeting materials:
  • Introduction to Hydrogeology
  • Introduction to Subbasins

January 24

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Revised operating principles - draft for review (v1011619)
  • Proposed Timeline and Key Decisions
  • Plan components
  • Introduction to Instream Flows

2018

December 11th

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • Geography presentation
  • Operating principles - draft for review (v12/4/18)

October 24

• Agenda
• Meeting summary
• Meeting materials:
  • ESSB 6091 - Map
  • Focus on: New streamflow restoration law
  • WRIA 8 Cedar-Sammamish - Basin map
  • Presentation - RCW 90.94 Streamflow Restoration

Streamflow restoration implementation grants

We have launched a grant program for Streamflow Restoration implementation projects. These grants will focus on projects that improve streamflows and instream resources:

• Read more

Committee specific resource materials

• Committee Roster
• Approved and signed operating principles
• Watershed map
• Instream flow rule
• WRIA 8 WRE Committee Overview and Timeline
• WRE Plan Technical Memos:
  • Subbasin Technical Memo (v8/20/20)
  • PE Well Projection Technical Memo (v11/19/20)
  • Consumptive Use Technical Memo (v2/21/20)

General information

• USGS: Streamflow Depletion by Wells
• Department of Ecology Streamflow Restoration Webpage
• Hirst v. Whatcom County
• Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6091
• RCW 90.94
• Case law
• Final Net Ecological Benefit Guidance
• Streamflow Restoration Policy and Interpretative Statement
• *Documents and presentations developed by external parties may not comply with accessibility requirements

Contact:

Stephanie Potts
Streamflow Restoration
stephanie.potts@ecy.wa.gov
425 649-7138