Council approves multi-year lease of regional water rights; annual revenue cited at roughly $197,790

WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Wenatchee City Council voted to approve a multi-year temporary water-rights agreement that allows the regional water system to lease unused water rights to an agricultural user and to extend the period covered by earlier annual applications.

Jessica Shaw, deputy public works director for utilities, described the agreement as a multi-year replacement for the annual temporary-change application the city had been filing. The contract would allow the regional water systemwhich includes the City of Wenatchee, East Wenatchee Water District and Chelan County PUDto lease pioneer water rights through an intermediary to a farming operation in the Walla Walla area.

Shaw said the agreement covers multiple years and "will eliminate the annual temporary change application that I have to keep coming back to you," which staff expect will reduce legal and administrative costs. She told the council the regional water system will receive annual revenue of "a hundred and $97,790, and that money will go towards future capital projects for the regional waters." (Transcript phrasing preserved.)

Council members asked for and received clarification about the regional water partnership and the agreement's 2029 end date. City staff said the end date was chosen to avoid risking long-term water-right relinquishment under state law and to preserve the city's own water-right portfolio.

A motion to approve the 2025 temporary water-rights agreement and authorize the city administrator's signature was made and seconded on the council floor; the motion carried by voice vote with no roll-call tally published in the meeting record.