Thurston County has secured a $2. 4 million grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology to purchase approximately 800 acre-feet of water rights from the TransAlta Water Bank. The purchase is intended to protect river flows and support new residential development in the region.
One acre-foot equals about 325,851 gallons of water — roughly the annual water use of two to three average households. The 800 acre-feet purchased through this agreement represents a significant volume of water being redirected back to local waterways.
The county plans to permanently dedicate the water back to the Lower Skookumchuck and Chehalis rivers. County officials describe the purchase as an innovative approach to meeting state requirements that call for offsetting the impact of new permit-exempt wells — private wells that do not require a standard water permit.
In a separate environmental effort, Thurston County and the Thurston Conservation District also received a $489,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to support salmon recovery planning in South Puget Sound.