H-1235.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1826

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Grant, Linville, Mastin and G. Chandler

Read first time 02/08/1999.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.

Requiring appointment of water masters in watershed management areas with WRIA plans.

    AN ACT Relating to water masters; and amending RCW 90.03.060.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 90.03.060 and 1987 c 109 s 69 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section:

(a) Water masters shall be appointed by the department whenever it shall find the interests of the state or of the water users to require them((.)); and

(b) The districts for or in which the water masters serve shall be designated water master districts, which shall be fixed from time to time by the department, as required, and they shall be subject to revision as to boundaries or to complete abandonment as local conditions may indicate to be expedient, the spirit of this provision being that no district shall be created or continued where the need for the same does not exist.

(2) The department shall appoint a water master for each watershed management area for which a plan has been adopted by a planning unit and by the counties with territory in the watershed management area under RCW 90.82.130.

(3) Water masters shall be supervised by the department, shall be compensated for services from funds of the department, and shall be technically qualified to the extent of understanding the elementary principals of hydraulics and irrigation, and of being able to make water measurements in streams and in open and closed conduits of all characters, by the usual methods employed for that purpose.  Counties and municipal and public corporations of the state are authorized to contribute moneys to the department to be used as compensation to water masters in carrying out their duties.  All such moneys received by the department shall be used exclusively for said purpose.

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