Water Resources
Jefferson County was an active participant in local watershed planning for the stewardship of our natural resources. There are 4 Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) with a major portion within Jefferson County, and 3 in which the County took an active role:
The Department of Ecology maintains information on all of the WRIAs at their Streamflow Restoration website. Use the navigation links at the Ecology website to find out information on Water Availability, Wells and Water Rights.
- WRIA 16 - Skokomish/Dosewallips
- WRIA 17 - Quilcene/Snow
- WRIA 20 - Sol Duc/Hoh
- WRIA 21 - Queets/Quinault (No planning activities at this time)
Water resources planning in WRIA 17 - Quilcene/Snow was accomplished by the East Jefferson Watershed Council, which is no longer active. An educational Guide to WRIA 17 was produced with background information. The reports produced for WRIA 17 include:
- 2011 Watershed Management Plan and Detailed Implementation Plan
- 2012 Supplement: Priority Basins
- 2010 Water Demand and Availability
- 2003 Water Supply Storage Alternatives Analysis
- Groundwater Studies:
- 1981 Geology and Groundwater Resources of EJC (& Plate)
- 2004 Ground-Water System in the Chimacum Creek Basin (& Plate)
- 2007 Deep Monitoring Well Report
- 2011 Hydrogeologic Framework in Chimacum Basin (& Plate)
- 2013 Numerical Simulation of Groundwater in Chimacum
- 2013 Transient Calibration of Groundwater in Chimacum Basin
Quilcene/Snow Water Resources Management Rule (Instream Flow)
The Quilcene/Snow Creek watershed has an instream flow rule established in 2009. This includes the Chimacum Creek subbasin. See the Washington Administrative Code Chapter 173-517 WAC. The Washington Department of Ecology produced factsheets about the rule, listed below. Some of these may be outdated - Please consult Ecology for current information.