Whatcom County Public Works Department (WCPW) will host virtual workshops aimed at helping water users prepare for the upcoming water rights adjudication process along the Nooksack River.
Each workshop will be an hour and include a crash course in the water rights adjudication process, demonstrate tools to help water users collect information to fill out their adjudication court claim forms, and have a question and answer session.
The workshops are hosted by Aspect Consulting, a water rights consulting firm the county hired to provide technical assistance through what will be a years-long adjudication process.
The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) began mailing water claim forms in March, a mailing list that includes about 30,000 landowners throughout Whatcom County.
Not all landowners have received their forms, DOE said, and the mailing process is still being worked through. Whatcom County Superior Court set a deadline for all claim forms to be sent by May 1, 2026.
The Nooksack adjudication area roughly follows the outflow of the Nooksack River basin and covers the majority of Whatcom County. In 2020, DOE selected the area as one of two waterways most in need of adjudication due to rising demand and shrinking glacial output.
Adjudication is the legal process of resolving conflict and claims over a water source, and in this case, the Nooksack River.
While those who use water from a municipal source are exempt from the adjudication process, private well users in rural parts of the county are being asked to measure and report their water usage in order to be given a legal deed to that water.
Events will take place online at the following dates and times:
• Tuesday, April 22, 12 p.m.
• Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 30, 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 13, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 15, 12 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 21, 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 3, 12 p.m.
• Thursday, June 5, 5:30 p.m.
For more information on the adjudication of the Nooksack River, visit ecology.wa.gov/nooksack-adjudication.
