S-1466.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5872

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Senators Swecker, Rasmussen, Morton, Haugen, Roach, Long, Wood, Sellar, McAuliffe, Strannigan, Horn, Loveland, Schow, McDonald, Anderson and Hochstatter

Read first time 02/18/97.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Environment.

Concerning the perfection of municipal water rights.

    AN ACT Relating to water right certificates for municipal supply purposes; and amending RCW 90.03.330.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 90.03.330 and 1987 c 109 s 89 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Upon a showing satisfactory to the department that any appropriation has been perfected in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, it shall be the duty of the department to issue to the applicant a certificate stating such facts in a form to be prescribed by ((him)) the department, and such certificate shall thereupon be recorded with the department.  Any original water right certificate issued, as provided by this chapter, shall be recorded with the department and thereafter, at the expense of the party receiving the same, be by the department transmitted to the county auditor of the county or counties where the distributing system or any part thereof is located, and be recorded in the office of such county auditor, and thereafter be transmitted to the owner thereof.

(2) If a public water system is providing water for municipal supply purposes, and the system holds a certificated water right, the instantaneous and annual withdrawal rates specified within the certificate are presumed by the department to be valid and perfected.

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