The Okanogan County Water Conservancy Board (WCB) is looking for volunteers to serve as board members to help protect the water rights of Okanogan County.
The WCB currently has five active members and no alternates. The board must maintain a composition of at least one water right holder (irrigation shares from an irrigation district and permit exempt well uses do not qualify) and one non-water right holder who are residents of Okanogan County or a contiguous county, according to information from the WCB. The only requirement to join the WCB is to participate in a 32-hour Washington Department of Ecology training session to be held virtually in late February.
In the late 1990s, the Legislature created WCBs across the state to allow the processing of change applications for water rights. While processing changes is typically a function of Ecology, limited state funding and staffing has created a multi-decade backlog of pending change applications. WCBs review change application materials and provide a recommendation to Ecology.
WCB meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month and will be virtual for the foreseeable future. Typical monthly duties of board members outside of meetings include reviewing change applications, attending site visits, and participating in eight hours of annual refresher training. There is no financial compensation to board members for their time, but travel and training expenses are provided.
For more information, contact Lisa A. de Vera at ldevera@nwi.net or call (509) 860-7466.
