Washington Water Law

Rivers need sufficient water, or instream flow, to be healthy. Under Washington law, the Department of Ecology can adopt instream flow rules to protect fish, wildlife, aesthetic, recreation, navigation, and other values. An instream flow rule provides a legal right for these uses and cannot be impaired by future permitted and permit-exempt water rights.  Unfortunately, only a handful of basins have up-to-date instream flow rules.

In 2003, American Rivers and the Washington Environmental Council prepared an Instream Flow Tool Kit to provide a comprehensive source of information on the science, law, and policy around instream flow rules.  In addition, the Department of Ecology website has regular updates on instream flow rulemaking.