Muni Law Confirmed Constitutional

The Washington Supreme Court decided on the side of water utilities by unanimously confirming the constitutionality of the Municipal Water Law on 10-28-10.

In 2003 utilities saw the need for a law that would give utilities more flexibility with water rights in order to plan better for the future. A 1998 ruling had stated that water rights holders must use the water they had rights to or lose them. The legislature enacted the Municipal Water Law that enables water suppliers to retain their rights to the water that their pumps and pipes are capable of delivering not just the water that they are using at the present time. Saving for a rainy day – or dry day – as in this case makes sense. The law removes a lot of uncertainty to municipal water suppliers across the state.

When dealing with water – nothing, however, is simple. Some people have problems with the definition of a municipal water supplier. The law defines a municipal water suppliers as any group A system, that is a water system with 15 or greater connections. Environmental groups, some individuals and several tribes feel that this law encourages sprawl and water speculation. They feel that there will be greater development in the rural area by developers who will have rights to water that would have been allocated elsewhere in the past. They also are concerned with the possibility of individuals selling these water rights at will. This was the basis for the law suit filed in 2006, Lummi Tribe v State.

The municipal water law also stipulates that municipal water suppliers must conserve water. So since all parts of the law has been upheld, all municipal water systems, even those run by a local neighborhood associations must follow the law. This law states that these systems must:

· Provide the department of health with a conservation plan.

· Make conservation goals in a public forum.

· Report the progress of these goals to the department of health.

· Maintain system leakage to below 10%.

· Install water meters on each connection of the system.

This law is good for utility planning and good for water conservation. The legislature has left the door open for further clarification of this law by individual law suits, of which there will likely be plenty. For more info visit http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rights/muni_wtr.html.