Natural Resources

Lake Chelan Water Resources, Water RIghts

The Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Project, originally constructed by the Chelan Electric Company, currently is operated by Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County (Chelan PUD) under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Under state-issued 1925 water rights and a 1992 agreement with the Department of Ecology (Ecology), Chelan PUD holds the reservoir right to store water behind the Chelan dam and to use the entire flow of the Chelan River for hydropower generation, except for 65,000 acre-feet per year (afy) for existing and future domestic and irrigation uses in the Lake Chelan Water Basin. This 65,000 afy is frequently referred to as the Lake Chelan Reserve (Reserve). The 1992 Agreement between Ecology and Chelan PUD affirmed the 65,000-afy Reserve for non-project purposes, which was approved by FERC in 1993.

 As of 2017, there are more than 150 applications on file for new surface or groundwater permits in the Lake Chelan water basin. In order to move forward on processing pending water right applications, Chelan PUD and Ecology entered into an Amendment of the 1992 Agreement to clarify and streamline the regulatory process for allocating water rights from the Reserve and a Memorandum of Understanding to establish accounting business rules to accurately estimate the amount of the Reserve remaining for allocation.

Listed below are links to documents that have been included in discussions at LCWPU meetings.

Planning documents:

Posted: 09/04/2015 11:00 AM
Last Updated: 03/27/2019 02:14 PM

Chelan County Calendar

Upcoming events and schedules at the county!

  • 08
    Jan 2025
    01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Hearing Examiner - January 8, 2025

    Posted by: Community Development

    By Zoom Video Conference or in person at 400 Douglas St.
  • 18
    Dec 2024
    06:00 PM - 09:00 PM

    Planning Commission - December 18, 2024

    Posted by: Community Development

    400 Douglas Street
  • 18
    Dec 2024
    01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Hearing Examiner - December 18, 2024

    Posted by: Community Development

    By Zoom Video Conference or in person
  • 11
    Dec 2024
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Chelan County Civil Service Commission

    Posted by: Human Resources

    The Chelan County Civil Service Commission will be meeting on December 11, 2024.

    Chelan County Commissioners Office, CM Conference Room 1