Well help on the way in Kittitas Co.?

YAKIMA, Wash. — The Suncadia Resort near Cle Elum may have a temporary solution to the water well moratorium that has halted development in upper Kittitas County since July.

Developers and property owners trying to tap into water for new housing development will soon have the option of purchasing water from the upscale resort.

Already, as many as 75 people have lined up for a chance to purchase water from the giant resort, according to resort officials and the state Department of Ecology.

A price for the water will be subject to negotiations between Suncadia and the applicants.

Paul Eisenberg, Suncadia’s senior vice president for development, said the program could provide enough water for several hundred homes.

But some property owners are skeptical the opportunity can help very many people who have been prohibited from building homes because of the state ban on new wells.

The Ecology Department imposed the ban in mid-July, saying the number of new wells in the upper county west of Indian John Hill, east of Cle Elum, is hurting senior water rights and stream flows.

Late last month, the department extended the ban to March.

The water purchase option to offset new water uses has been in the works since August, but working out details has slowed the process.

Suncadia purchased senior surface water rights to serve its 6,400-acre residential and resort complex. The Ecology Department also required the resort to purchase additional water rights that would be used to offset development the resort will trigger.

The resort has published a legal notice that some of those rights will be transferred into the state water rights trust program from which applicants can obtain use of the water.

That process is likely to be completed by mid-January, when Suncadia could begin negotiating with individual purchasers.

Joye Redfield-Wilder, Ecology Department spokeswoman in Yakima, said the purchase program is a way to help development resume, help organize a market for water and protect senior rights and flows.

“It will help a great number of people. The important thing is to help jump-start the water market and provide certainty these water users will need,” she said.

While new wells for new rural homes, lawns and gardens, industrial uses and watering livestock don’t require a state permit, they are blocked if their use damages senior water rights.

The rights being transferred, which total almost 354 acre-feet, date back to 1884.

An acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons of water. The typical single-family home uses about 350 gallons per day.

Redfield-Wilder said the department is certain the water to be sold will fit the needs of those along the Yakima River and Interstate 90 between Indian John Hill and Lake Easton.

She said the area is where most of the residential development has occurred. Other areas could qualify, but will require additional study.

Property owner Scott Lindley of Sammamish, Wash., said he fears the state’s approach won’t help many people. Lindley is a member of a group known as Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights.

“Those areas along the river have been developed. It is precisely those areas that aren’t getting the growth. The need is on the hills from Cle Elum to Teanaway,” he said.

While the moratorium has been in place, the state and county commissioners have been negotiating terms of an agreement that could see the ban lifted.

Those talks are continuing.


• David Lester can be reached at 509-577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.