Walla Walla moves forward with water rights permit amid drought concerns
By Dan Thesman on Monday, March 2nd, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – Walla Walla City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain informed the Walla Walla City Council on Wednesday that she plans to sign a permit application with the Oregon Water Resources Department, a move that could lead to a water rights lease agreement later this year.
The permit, part of a recurring arrangement with the Washington Water Trust, would involve the city being paid to leave a portion of its water allotment in Mill Creek during the summer months to maintain higher instream flows for fish habitat. In 2023 and 2024, the city received approximately $80,000 annually through similar leases, which helped offset the costs of pumping additional water from city wells and compensated for lost hydropower generation.
While the application itself does not commit the city to a lease, Councilmember Monte Ellis expressed significant concern regarding the region’s historically low snowpack.
“Given the year we’re having… unless we have surprising weather coming up, we’re going to have very little snowpack,” Ellis said. “My concern would be that we’d be facing drought restrictions and we’ll have tied ourselves up, you know, not being able to use our full water right.”
Chamberlain clarified that the city didn’t participate in a lease in 2025 and emphasized that any final agreement for 2026 would require separate council approval. She noted that the Oregon permit is necessary because the Mill Creek watershed originates in Oregon, and a compact between the two states now requires this additional layer of permitting alongside the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Councilmember Steve Moss questioned the timeline for a final decision. Chamberlain stated that the Department of Ecology’s review is expected to conclude by late May, with a draft lease potentially coming before the council in June.
To address the council’s concerns, Chamberlain announced that the city’s Public Works department will present an updated Water Resources Plan and drought contingency plans during a March work session.
“You’ll have a lot of information before we would ever bring back a lease for council’s consideration,” Chamberlain assured the members.
Finding no formal objections to the initial application process, Chamberlain tells Elkhorn Media Group she signed the application for the Washington Water Trust to apply for a permit ahead of the Friday deadline.
“The application does not commit the city, and any lease agreement would go before the city council for action,” Chamberlain added.
File photo of City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain
