Kittitas County Offers Compromise on Exempt-Well Moratorium

Mike Johnston of the Daily Record reports on comments by Darryl Piercy, the county’s director of Community Development Services, concerning the Aqua Permanente demand for a moratorium on exempt wells in the county:

"Piercy said the county supports “reasonable measures” such as an interim state rule that would limit water withdrawals from each 20-acre, developed, rural site to 5,000 gallons per day with metering and monitoring of wells. He said the county is actively using a process to analyze cumulative impacts from water withdrawals from an area in its evaluation of specific rural developments. The county also has established a database of known well and water production data in the county, and this information is used to review the impact of new, rural developments. Piercy also said the county requires metering of well heads in certain cluster subdivisions. The ... county [also] wants to complete its portion of the Yakima Basin Watershed Plan that will address the growth of rural developments and supports a groundwater study in Upper County to assess the status of the aquifer there."