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November 8th, 2010

Rural Residential Water Use Study Launched

SKAGIT COUNTY - Skagit County, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the City of Anacortes announced the start of a rural residential water use study in three Lower Skagit River tributaries. Water use survey forms will be mailed to residents in the Carpenter, Fisher, and Nookachamps Creek basins who use individual wells for water supply. Residents can mail back the paper survey form or take the survey on-line at www.skagitcounty.net/watersurvey.

The survey form solicits volunteers that would be willing to have meters installed on their wells for a period of one year. The meters will have remote-read capabilities that allow the meter data to be downloaded from public roads eliminating the need for study personnel to enter the volunteer's property once the meter is installed. Meters will be installed at no cost to the well owner and will be removed from the well at the end of the study. Well owners can also opt to keep the meters for their own use at no charge.

The study report will summarize water usage characteristics for different categories of water users. Information regarding water use by any particular home or individual will not be included in the report. No personal information such as name, address, or property parcel number will be used in the report.
Data from the study will be used to better quantify the amount of groundwater being used by individual domestic wells in the Skagit Basin to better manage the region's water resources. More specifically, the data are intended to be used to more-accurately determine the amount of groundwater that is available for future domestic uses under the State's Skagit River water management regulation (Chapter 173-503 Washington Administrative Code).

Skagit County, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the City of Anacortes are jointly funding the study, which is required under a settlement agreement between the three parties signed in 2007. For more information, contact Skagit County Water Resources Section Manager Gary Stoyka at (360) 336-9400, Jacque Klug with the Department of Ecology at (425) 649-7000, or Fred Buckenmeyer with the City of Anacortes at (360) 293-1919.