By Jennifer Langston

Herald Writer

The Department of Ecology is starting to require some water users in the Snohomish River basin and 11 others around the state to meter and report the amount of water they’re using.

But unlike in more rural areas, the order isn’t going to affect farmers or private well owners in Snohomish County.

Only a handful of municipalities or big water providers will be required to measure and report their water use, said Curt Hart, a spokesman for the Department of Ecology.

"There are probably thousands of people who may have wells on the Snohomish River, but we’re not asking about those," he said. "The watershed has only a couple of entities that are going to be getting orders."

Environmental groups successfully sued the Department of Ecology several years ago because it wasn’t enforcing a state law requiring water users to measure and report how much water they were taking.

Without knowing how much water is being withdrawn from rivers or groundwater reserves, it’s impossible to know whether people are illegally taking more than their water rights allow.

It also makes it difficult to know when a particular river basin is in danger of running short of water.

Now the state is moving ahead with a plan to measure 80 percent of the water being used in 16 river basins where fish runs are the most threatened.

The law says the state should keep tabs on all water use, but that compromise was reached because the Department of Ecology had limited staff and money.

In the Snohomish River basin, the city of Everett and other public drinking water suppliers use more than 80 percent of the water. That’s why they’re the only ones who will receive orders, Hart said.

Tom Thetford, utilities director for Everett, said the city already meters the amount of water flowing out of its filtration plant. The only difference is that it will now have to report that number to the state.

"The new requirement is not going to stress us out any," he said. "For the most part all the big water users are already on top of that."

Statewide, the Department of Ecology is planning to send orders to about 1,000 farms, irrigation districts, municipalities and other water users requiring them to install measuring devices and periodically report their water use.

The Legislature has provided about $3.4 million to help water users comply with the 1993 law requiring them to meter their use. It can cost between $50,000 and $100,000 to install a measuring device.

"Water measuring information will help protect the rights of people, businesses and communities who are using the water they have a right to, and it should help deter illegal water use," said Joe Stohr, who supervises Ecology’s water resources program.

The Snohomish County Farm Bureau and other farm organizations have historically opposed metering requirements for landowners whose original water rights didn’t demand it.

John Postema, president of the Snohomish County Farm Bureau, said farmers consider water rights to be property rights. Once someone starts having to report water use to the state, that’s like the difference between owning a home and renting one. Plus there’s the considerable expense of installing the meters.

He said although the immediate order won’t require farmers in the Snohomish River basin to do that, there’s always a concern that the program could be enlarged later.

You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452

or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.