H-1680              _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 986

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State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Representative Baugher

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Agriculture.

AN ACT Relating to riparian water rights; and amending RCW 90.03.010.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 117, Laws of 1917 and RCW 90.03.010 are each amended to read as follows:

          The power of the state to regulate and control the waters within the state shall be exercised as hereinafter in this chapter provided.  Subject to existing rights all waters within the state belong to the public, and any right thereto, or to the use thereof, shall be hereafter acquired only by appropriation for a beneficial use and in the manner provided and not otherwise; and, as between appropriations, the first in time shall be the first in right.  Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to lessen, enlarge, or modify the existing rights of any riparian owner, or any existing right acquired by appropriation, or otherwise.  They shall, however, be subject to condemnation as provided in RCW 90.03.040, and the amount and priority thereof may be determined by the procedure set out in RCW 90.03.110 through 90.03.240.

For the purposes of this section, the right of a riparian owner to water for consumptive uses or for stock watering is an "existing right" if:  The title to the land by the government patentee commenced before the effective date of chapter 117, Laws of 1917; and beneficial use of the water began within five years of the effective date of chapter 233, Laws of 1967.