USFS PNW Region Tasks GeomorphIS Team to Conduct Water Rights Site Survey
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Pacific Northwest Region (R6), has issued GeomorphIS a task order under it’s 10-year USFS R6 professional services Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), to conduct water rights site surveys and documentation. A GeomorphIS-Geosyntec team will conduct surveys at designated water sources on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS) and Colville National Forest, Washington. The surveys will be conducted following established written guidelines. Waters of the state belong to the public and can’t be owned by any one individual or group. A water adjudication is a state law-based court process to determine water rights in a particular basin, including who holds a valid water right, how much water can be used pursuant to that right, duration of that right, and priority during shortages. Water adjudication is currently the most definitive and legally binding way to make these determinations. The Forest Service is required to participate as a general claimant for State-based water rights and federal reserved water rights.