Water rights claim forms are expected to start arriving via certified mail throughout the county this week, according to a Department of Ecology news release. The forms must be signed for by an adult and cannot be left in a mailbox.
The mailing list includes roughly 30,000 landowners who will need to file with Whatcom County Superior Court as part of the largest lawsuit in county history. The department, which filed the lawsuit in May, stated “there is a chance” people who receive the form will not need to fill one out.
“If you are sure after reading the instructions that you should not be involved, you can disregard the summons,” the release states.
The adjudication — a complex litigation process — will establish priority for each individual water right, including those held by farmers, local governments, private well owners and tribes, as well as federal and state agencies. This will include groundwater, surface water and instream flow rights, which are essential for salmon habitat.
Water users must fill out the forms “as completely and accurately as possible,” Ecology’s adjudication manager Robin McPherson said. “Filing a claim is the only way to protect your legal right to use water. If you use water from a well, stream, or lake, you must file a claim.”
The adjudication lawsuit of Water Resource Inventory Area 1 — which covers the entire Nooksack Basin, as well as Lake Whatcom, TenMile Creek, Sumas, Point Roberts, Lummi Island and other watersheds, such as Dakota Creek and Lake Whatcom — will determine whether each water right is legal, how much water can be used and what its priority will be during shortages.
“This legal process is a necessary step to resolve water management issues so that we can plan for future water supply needs of this growing region,” McPherson previously told Cascadia Daily News.
Judge David Freeman, who is overseeing the adjudication process, approved the claim forms for the water rights lawsuit late last year.
Freeman is giving water users until May 1, 2026, to fill out and return the claim form.
“If users fill out no form at all, they risk being left out entirely in the future,” McPherson told CDN.
Whatcom County and Department of Ecology resources
Ecology is hosting a free webinar to help people fill out the claim form at 5:30 p.m. on April 16. Registration is required to attend.
In-person workshops for community members will be held in May. The first is from 5:30–7 p.m. on May 28 at Pioneer Pavillion in Ferndale. The second is from 5:30–7 p.m. on May 29 at Meridian Middle School in Lynden. Registration for the events is not yet open.
Those wanting more information about the process can reach out to the department at:
- Phone: 360-255-4406
- Email: WRadjudications@ecy.wa.gov
Whatcom County is also providing resources to community members navigating the complicated process. Get in touch:
- Phone: 360-778-6314
- Email: WRA-PublicWorks@whatcomcounty.us
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
