DOE may purchase water rights from Dungness/Elwha river owners

(Port Angeles, WA - July 3, 2001) -- In the face of the drought, the state Department of Ecology (DOE) may lease or buy some water rights on the Elwha and Dungeness Rivers. 

D-O-E officials have put the rivers on a list of waterways that could be eligible for temporary transfer of water rights using up to 10-million dollars in state and federal money. 

D-O-E spokesperson Mary Getchell says her department wants to keep more water in rivers with endangered fish runs.. She says there has been some interest among water rights holders on the Dungeness, but no final agreements have been made yet.

 In addition to outright leases and buys, the law allows some water rights holders to transfer those rights for a tax write-off.