Washington Ecology Rolls Out New Water Rights Website

If you own land, or you’re thinking about buying, water rights are an important detail to know.  Whether you're trying to understand them, trying to get them, or trying to find them, water rights are complicated.  But to help land owners, or would be landowners, the Washington Department of Ecology has unveiled a new, interactive Water Resources Web Map.  DOE says this new map will allow users to check on water rights, water availability and water limitations such as sub-basin closures or instream flow rules.

The web map allows users to search by address, parcel number, or water right document numbers. There are options for searching portions of the map or specific rivers and watersheds. Maps can also be bookmarked and saved for later or printed.   The maps display places of use, water bodies, the type of water rights associated with a property, and “water device points” such as wells, dams, and pumps.

Ecology: This Will Make Needed Information Easier To Find

Ecology said this Water Resources Web Map is a replacement for the current Water Resources Tracking System map search tool.  It has several improvements including: 

• New filters to sort out visible water right places of use 
• Expanded layer options and tools
• Ability to generate a printable map for easy communication
• Municipal Places of Use and Large Places of use moved into a separate layer for easy viewing
• Easy quick search bar (Search by City, County, WRIA, Address and even by Water Right Document Number)

“The web map gives users the ability to interact with water right data across the state with just a few clicks," said Taylor Braden, lead developer of the new web map. "This will give potential applicants easy access to information that will help them fill out their forms.”

Ecology encourages everyone to try the new Web Map by Clicking Here.  You can also learn more about the Map by watching this Instructional Video.

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