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Subjects › Environment › Water Rights › Water Rights and Comprehensive Planning and Private Land Development Review
Reviewed 09/2008

Water Rights and Comprehensive Planning and Private Land Development Review

The Growth Management Act (GMA), Ch. 36.70A RCW, requires comprehensive land use planning in 34 of Washington's 39 counties and the cities and towns within those counties. In addition to GMA requirements regarding identification and protection of critical areas, the GMA mandates that counties and cities consider the availability of public infrastructure and services, expressly including the availability of water, in planning for projected growth, in developing comprehensive land use plans, and in making land development permit decisions (RCW 36.70A.020(10) and (12) and RCW 36.70A.030(12)). Attorney General Opinion, AGO 1992 No. 17, on the adequacy of water rights for purposes of land development approvals under the state subdivision law, RCW 58.17.110, and the state building code, RCW 19.27.097(1), has highlighted the need for local governments to understand and consider water rights in land use planning and development project review.

Articles

A discussion of these issues can be found in the following articles:

  • Water Issues: The Impending Marriage of Land Use and Water Law, by Douglas Jensen, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Lewis County, from Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA) Summer Training Program: Civil Track, June 24-26, 1998 - Discusses how water-related legal issues have become a prominent factor in comprehensive land use planning and development regulation. (Available through MRSC Library Loan)
  • Water Rights Responsibilities for Counties in the Wake of 1997 AGO No. 6, by Jeffrey S. Myers , Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Thurston County, from Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA) Summer Training Program: Civil Track, June 24-26, 1998 - Discusses county (and city) obligations regarding water supply under the state subdivision law, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and the state building code, as well as the impact of  AGO 1997 No. 6, relating to the use of exempt wells as evidence of adequate water supply
  • Water Supply and the Growth Management Act, Tom McDonald, Office of the Attorney General, Ecology Division, 1998 Environmental and Land Use Law Midyear: Keeping Your Environmental/Land Use Law Practice Current, 04/1998 - Addresses the responsibilities and legal requirements for local governments in managing water for growth