Case Study: Water Right Permitting & Well Construction: Whitehorse Fish Hatchery

Client: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) Location: Stillaguamish River, WA Contact for water resource projects: Tim Flynn

Project Background & Challenges

To address water-quality issues impacting fish-rearing operations, WDFW decided to expand its water supply capacity at the Whitehorse Fish Hatchery by securing a nonconsumptive water right and constructing a well. Groundwater pumped from this new supply source would be used for rearing summer-run chinook salmon, a threatened species.

Solution

Aspect helped WDFW acquire a new nonconsumptive right for the hatchery, a process that entailed siting a new well based on existing hydrogeologic data, completing the water-right application on behalf of WDFW, and meeting with Ecology to review the application. After we presented proposed withdrawals and mitigation strategies, Ecology approved permits for two test/production wells. In addition to preparing technical specifications for drilling, developing, and testing these wells, we oversaw their completion. Our completion report documented well yield and efficiency, provided an assessment of potential pumping-related impacts, and recommended pump settings. An important part of this work was analyzing the degree of hydraulic continuity with the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, the hatchery’s discharge point. Ecology issued the water-right permit for the requested 2 cfs in August 2004.