Water Rights Adjudication and Washington Water Law Education

What is a water rights adjudication?

A water rights adjudication is a legal process that is initiated by the Department of Ecology and processed in Superior Court. General water adjudications are complex, civil legal proceedings that can span a long period of time. The adjudication is the process under existing law to prioritize water rights and result in a final, comprehensive inventory rights to use water in the adjudicated area.

Are there any active general water adjudications
in Washington State?

Yes, the Department of Ecology filed a Statement of Facts, a plan, and a map of the locality under investigation in support of a water adjudication of the Water Resources Inventory Area (Nooksack) on May 1, 2024. This is the first step in starting a water adjudication under RCW 90.03.110.

You can find a copy of the Statement of Facts and exhibits that were filed at Whatcom County Superior Court on May 1, 2024 at the Ecology website: Department of Ecology - Committees, Boards, and Workgroups (wa.gov). The case number is 24-2-80000-37.

What is the status of the Nooksack Water Adjudication?

On March 17, 2025, the Department of Ecology began sending all landowners in Water Resources Inventory Area 1 certified mail which includes the claim form and corresponding instructions. Claimants have until May 1, 2026 to file a claim with Whatcom County Superior Court.

How is the court employing innovative practices and technologies?

The Nooksack Water Adjudication will be the first instance of using Guide and File; an application that uses a comprehensive interview to complete the water claim form. In addition to the interview application, the court and clerk encourages eFiling for all water claimants, publishes a docket sheet on the clerk’s website that includes hearings and documents, has implemented hybrid proceedings to date, and provides a livestream option for hearings.

Nooksack Water Adjudication Steering Committee

Whatcom County Superior Court enacted an Order Establishing Steering Committee on June 26, 2024 and an Order Naming Steering Committee Members on September 13, 2024. The committee is charged with providing recommendations to the Court regarding procedure and case management.

Judicial Water Law Education

In 2024–2025, AOC partnered with the National Judicial College (NJC) to provide water law education programs to the Washington judicial branch. Pursuant to consultations with tribal representatives, state government officials, and water lawyers, NJC has created four events for judicial officers in Washington.

• Indian Water Law Webinar – Honorable Theresa Pouley of Colville Tribal Court of Appeals and Professor Monte Mills of UW School of Law presented this webinar focused on Washington’s Indian law and history, addressed how the Federal Government and federal law intersect with state laws, with the Federal Government and tribal governments as sovereigns.
• Judges' Water Science Intensive at WSU Water Research Center – Judicial officers that attended this two-day program in Pullman, Washington attended classes that included Hydrology, Water Use in Washington, Water for Environment and Fish, Agriculture: Water Use and Value, Municipal, Industrial, and Domestic Water, and Water Value, Climate, Demographics, Science and Uncertainty. They also traveled on location to experience the WSU Hydrology Laboratory, Lower Granite Dam Fish Ladder, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Working Farm with Irrigation, and the Spokane County Water Resource Center & Water Treatment Facility.




(bottom left to right): Judge David Freeman (Whatcom Superior), Commissioner Jill Karmy (Cowlitz Superior), Andrew Bogle (Whatcom Superior), Shannon Hinchcliffe (AOC), Judge Lisa Malpass (Pend Oreille, Ferry, and Stevens Superior), Judge D. Shelley Szambelan (Spokane Superior), Judge Anna G. Alexander (Snohomish Superior), (top left to right) Chief Justice Debra Stephens, Alf D. Brandt (NJC), Judge Jennifer Slattery (Whatcom Superior), Commissioner John D. All (Whatcom Superior), Judge Lee Grochmal (Whatcom Superior), Judge David Mann (Ct. of Appeals, Div. 1), Judge Linda D Lee (Ct. of Appeals, Div. 2), Commissioner Jennifer Koh (Ct. of Appeals, Div. 1).

• Washington Water Law Module – An on-demand module that is intended to focus on Washington-specific water law and will give a primer for those judicial officers who are assigned a water law case and can benefit from a foundational overview.
• Judicial – Tribal Summit Meeting – Chief Justice Stephens has invited Squaxin Island Tribal Chairman to co-host a meeting intended for further understanding of tribal culture awareness and tribal history related to treaty and nontreaty tribes and governmental relationships with federally recognized tribes. This meeting will be held in June 2025.