The Okanogan County Water Bank is starting to take shape, with a grant awarded for the first water right to “seed” the bank.
Okanogan County is partnering with the Okanogan Conservation District (OCD) to create and manage the water bank. The district and Okanogan County government will work together to develop policies and pricing.
The first grant to OCD to buy a water for the bank — an agricultural water right in the Methow Valley — was finalized by the state Department of Ecology in May. OCD has applied to Ecology for a second, smaller grant, also in the Methow, OCD Irrigation Planner Jordana Ellis told the Methow Valley News.
Read more: Okanogan County Water Bank gearing up for initial deposits