News Release: Some of Yakima Basin’s most reliable water rights are now available to the public for sale and lease
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2022
Some of Yakima Basin’s most reliable water rights are now available to the public for sale and lease
In 2021, the Selah-Moxee Irrigation District (SMID) created a 9,000 acre-foot water bank through various conservation projects and land uses changes to help fund its $100 million conservation and modernization plan. The District is now making a large portion of these senior, surplus water rights available to the public for sale and lease through an online auction running through November 15, 2022.
The District is currently auctioning 382 acre-feet for sale and 5,950 acre-feet for lease (short-term, long-term, drought-year, and non-drought-year) as specified by the bidder. The SMID surplus water rights auction is being run online by Western Water Market, LLC based in Moses Lake, Washington.
“Proceeds from this auction will fund projects like new piping improvements in the District, which will conserve water, reduce District maintenance challenges, and improve reliability for District customers”, says District Manager Nathan Draper.
The District’s water rights have a priority date of January 26, 1887, are senior rights in the Yakima Basin, and are not curtailed in drought years. The surplus water rights are available for irrigation and other purposes. SMID physically supplies water from 4/1 to 10/31, but a longer season of use may be possible through the Department of Ecology if the bidder has their own source.
Kristina Ribellia, Western Water Market founder states “We are honored to offer SMID’s surplus water rights in the largest water rights auction in Washington’s history. SMID’s senior water rights are some of the most valuable water rights in the state. And not only are they making a large quantity of water available, but they are offering various terms for nearly any need. This is a rare opportunity for the Yakima Basin and downstream users.”
SMID held an auction earlier this year for District landowners to lease or purchase a portion of the District’s surplus water rights for use within and outside of the SMID service area. It obligated 18.06 acre-feet in the exclusive auction at a purchase price of $9,000/acre-foot.
The current auction is open to any party who can physically access water from the District’s canals, or from surface water downstream of SMID, including from the Yakima River and Columbia River, or from groundwater in continuity therewith.
To place a bid in the SMID auction, the public can visit westernwatermarket.com/smid. Bidding opened on October 1, 2022 with all bids due by 5:00 pm on November 15, 2022. There is a one-time $500 non-refundable application fee per bidder.
For more information about the SMID Water Bank, please contact:
Nathan Draper with SMID, 509.469.0449 or email: smidistrict@qwestoffice.net
For more information about the auction, please contact:
Kristina Ribellia with Western Water Market, 509.906-1070 or email: kristina@westernwatermarket.com
See the auction on Western Water Market here: westernwatermarket.com/smid