Water Rights Depletion Puts Further Issaquah Development on Hold

ISSAQUAH, WA-Both Issaquah and the Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District have exhausted their water rights due largely to dense growth in the area over the past few years. As a result, no new building permits will be issued by the City of Issaquah until a new pipeline project is completed down the road.

In response to the emergency situation, the City of Seattle has offered up to one million gallons a day to meet the needs of Issaquah and the neighboring Sammamish Plateau. The Seattle-to-Issaquah pipeline is still in the planning stages. The project is “not expected to be completed for another two years,” according to Peter Rosen, Environmental Planner for the City of Issaquah. “We haven’t even broken ground.”

Once the pipeline reaches Issaquah, several commercial and residential areas now on SPWSD water could be switched onto the Seattle treated supply. Through the project, Issaquah will gain the equivalent of 3,700 residential units when Seattle water starts serving the 1,735 homes of East Village on Cougar Mountain and the 3,250-home Issaquah Highlands.

The temporary Seattle water would come from Seattle’s conservation supply, which can supply 3M to 5M gallons a day in emergency situations. Issaquah’s use of the water could have Tacoma tapping into underground water in drought years.