- Overview
- View our committees
- 2018 Water Transfer Working Group Meeting Archive
- 2019 Water Transfer Working Group Meeting Archive
- 6PPD Action Plan
- 6PPD Stormwater Best Management Practices Research
- Addressing 6PPD
- Adv. Group on Water Trust, Banking, and Transfers
- Agricultural Burning & Research Task Force
- Agri.-Forestry Carbon Capt. & Sequest. Adv. Panel
- Agriculture and Water Quality Advisory Committee
- Antifouling boat paint
- Better Brakes
- Brownfields Conference
- Burnt Bridge Creek Partnership
- Cannabis Science Task Force
- Cap-and-Invest EITE Industries Advisory Group
- Cap-and-Invest EITE Policy Advisory Group
- Cap-and-Invest Electricity Forums
- Chehalis Basin Board
- Clean Fuel Standard Data & Reports
- Clean Fuel Standard program documents
- Coastal Protection Fund (CPF) Steering Committee
- Columbia River Policy Advisory Group
- Compostable Products Advisory Committee
- Cruise Ship Agreements
- Duwamish Green Pollutant Loading Assessment
- East Fork Lewis River Partnership
- FERC
- Fluorinated Gases in Washington
- Food Donation Workgroup
- Improving Washington’s Recycling Systems
- Keyport Permit
- Lacamas Creek Partnership for Clean Water
- Lake Whatcom Clean Water Workgroup
- Landfill Methane Emissions Guidance
- Lead Arsenate Steering Committee
- Legacy Pesticide Working Group
- Lower Yakima Watershed TRP
- Moderate Risk Waste Program Coordinators Meetings
- Moses Lake Watershed Council
- Municipal Stormwater General Permit History
- Municipal Wastewater Permit Fees Advisory Committe
- Net Ecological Benefits Workgroup
- Net Ecological Benefit Workshop - Lacey
- Newman Lake Water Treatment
- Northwest Straits Initiative
- Nutrients General Permit Advisory Committee
- Offset-Environmental Justice Offset Working Group
- Offset-Forest Offset Technical Working Group
- Offset-Ozone Depleting Substances Tech. Workgroup
- Osoyoos Lake Fish Advisory Group
- Padilla Bay Research
- PCBs in Building Materials
- PFAS Chemical Action Plan
- PFAS in Firefighting Foam
- PFAS in Food Packaging Alternatives Assessment
- Phthalates Action Plan
- Plastics Packaging Study Stakeholder Group
- Puget Sound Nutrient Source Reduction Project
- Puyallup River Watershed Improvement Project
- Rail Transportation Safety Assessment
- Recycling Contamination Reduction Resources
- Recycling Development Center Advisory Board
- Research and Proposed Alternatives to 6PPD
- Residential Heating Assistance Program
- Resource Damage Assessment (RDA) Committee
- Safer Products for Washington
- Safer Self-care Outreach
- Salmon Spawning Rule Science Advisory Group
- Skagit Tributaries Temperature Strategy
- Skagit Video Workgroup
- Solid Waste Advisory Committee
- Solvay, Longview Wastewater Permit Application
- Spokane River Clean Water Permitting Process
- Spokane River DO TMDL Implementation
- Spokane River Technical Assistance Projects
- Spokane River Watershed Advisory Committee
- Stormwater Action Monitoring
- Stormwater Work Group
- Structural Stormwater Controls Stakeholder Process
- Toxic Free Cosmetics
- Toxics Reduction in the Columbia River Basin
- Trust, Transfers, Water Banking Legislative Report
- Use Food Well Campaign
- Walla Walla Water 2050
- Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council
- Washington State Recycling Steering Committee
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 7
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 8
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 9
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 10
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 12
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 13
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 14
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement - WRIA 15
- Water Power Stakeholder Group
- Water Quality Nonpoint
- Water Quality Partnership
- Water Resources Advisory Committee
- Water Resources Advisory Committee Archive
- Water Resource Management Public Interest Project
- Water Supply Availability Committee
- Water Transfer Working Group
- Well Construction Technical Advisory Group
- WRIA Adjudication Information
- Yakima Basin Plan Workgroup
Today is
[Portal ID #1962]
Department of Ecology
Committees, Boards, and Workgroups
WRIA Adjudication Information
Adjudication is a legal process. It is the foundation for resolving conflicts and competition over water resources. The process begins by serving a summons to all property owners (claimants) in WRIA 1 who are outside the service area of public water supply systems. The claimants will have one year or more to submit a court claim form to the Whatcom County Superior Court that describes their water usage.
In the following years, the court will review the forms and inventory all legal water rights. The adjudication process will determine whether each water right on a source is legal, how much water can be used, and its priority during water shortages. Then, over time, Ecology will issue adjudicated certificates for all these uses.
The adjudication will include all areas of WRIA 1, regardless of whether they are directly connected to the Nooksack River system. Use our Watershed look-up tool to learn if your address is within WRIA 1.
Table of Contents
- WRIA 1 adjudication filing documents - March 2025
- WRIA 1 Whatcom County Superior Court Documents – May 2024
- Let’s Talk About Adjudication e-newsletter index
WRIA 1 Adjudication Filing Documents - March 2025
- Name List (based on property ownership as of 1/15/2025)
- Cover Sheet
- Summons
- Instructions
- Court Information Sheet
- Downloadable/Fillable form
WRIA 1 Whatcom County Superior Court Documents - May 2024
At the direction of the Washington State Legislature, Ecology filed a water rights adjudication for the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA). This filing involves Ecology submitting legal documents with the Whatcom County Superior Court.
Documents
Please note these documents are historical and may not reflect the most current information. For the latest updates please refer to the 2025 documents above.
Newsletters
Monthly newsletters are sent to provide the most up-to-date information on this adjudication of water rights in WRIA 1 (Nooksack Area) in parts of Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Below, you can find all of the past newsletters and the subjects they covered:
*Please be advised that some information on the newsletters is now out-of-date. We recommend that you refer to the highlighted topics or more recent newsletters for the most up-to-date information.
2025
|
Topic |
Date |
|
We sent a mailer. Your adjudication court claim form is on the way. |
March 2025 |
|
Everything you need to know about filing your claim form |
Special Edition |
|
Collaborating with Whatcom Co Library System, Instantaneous & Annual Quantity |
|
|
Court claim form and scenarios for filing |
2024
|
Topic |
Date |
|
Information about the approved court claim form |
|
|
New video about the WRIA 1 adjudication process; Court claim form mailing details |
|
|
Court claim form update, accessing more information |
|
|
Water use calculator, how defendants were identified |
|
|
Claimants defined, when can I file my court claim form |
|
|
First Superior Court hearing, well report information |
|
|
Adjudication fees, what if I don’t file a court claim form? |
|
|
Water rights documents, the WRIA 1 boundary |
|
|
Filing of the adjudication, adjudications in other states |
|
|
Why are we adjudicating? Homes on wells |
|
|
Receiving a summons, ways to file a court claim form |
|
|
Permit-exempt wells, who needs to file a court claim form? |
2023
|
Future water needs, water rights definitions |
|
|
What is a water right, and how do I know if I have one? |
|
|
Welcome to the newsletter, let’s talk about adjudication |
Please Wait...