Welcome to WRIA 17
The WRIA 17 Quilcene-Snow Watershed Planning Unit is a group of non-governmental and governmental organizations that have come together to create and agree on solutions to water related issues on the northeast Olympic Peninsula. This effort has its basis in the Watershed Management Act ESHB 2514 as passed by the Legislature in 1998 (now called the "Watershed Planning Act" - Chapter 90.82 RCW). A framework which provided for local citizens, interest groups, and government organizations to collaboratively identify and solve water-related issues in each of the 62 Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) of the state.
The WRIA 17 Watershed Planning Unit addresses water quantity, water quality and habitat in its Watershed Management Plan and Detailed Implementation Plan. Both of these plans can be found in the Reports section of this website. The Planning Unit does not, however, have any legislative or rule-making power as a group.
We're Changing Our Name
June 25, 2010
Drum roll, please! The WRIA 17 Planning Unit is changing its name to the East Jefferson Watershed Council. The Planning Unit is making this change for several reasons: no one can pronounce “WRIA,” very few people know where or what “WRIA 17” is, and this group does far more than plan. Over the past ten years, the East Jefferson Watershed Council has created a groundwater monitoring network, purchased and helped local utilities use leak detection equipment, sponsored riparian plantings and water quality workshops for horse owners, and investigated the possibility of creating a water-rights exchange in the watershed, among other projects. We hope that our new name will better reflect our purpose and the place we call home.
Over the next few weeks our website will be changed to reflect our new name and our new logo but for now you can still find us at: wria17.org
Water Management Rule Adopted
January 19, 2010
The Department of Ecology has adopted a Water Management Rule (an Instream Flow Rule) for WRIA 17. This rule will affect future uses of water, including permit exempt wells in portions of Jefferson County. For more information about this rule please go here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/quilsnowbasin.html
