Water Rights Review
Bellevue, Washington
 

At the request of the City of Bellevue,
G-Logics conducted a review of the
feasibility, availability, and regulatory issues
related to the reuse of groundwater
currently captured by a dewatering system
located beneath the City's Meydenbauer
Convention Center. This water, estimated
to enter the dewatering system at 50 to 80
gallons per minute, currently is being
discharged to the local storm-sewer
system. The City expressed an interest in

recovering this groundwater and putting it to beneficial use, such as contact/non-contact cooling water, sanitary use, irrigation, or potentially for decorative purposes (e.g., fountains). For the City, G-Logics identified that the feasibility of reusing this groundwater would require consideration of several factors, such as volume of water required for the planned use, continuity of the flows, protection of the recharge area, water-quality parameters, and water-rights permissions.

We also identified that the request for a water right likely would be contingent on "non-consumptive use for the groundwater, as the Convention Center is located within a closed groundwater basin. In order to demonstrate that 100 percent of the water could be returned to the local environment, we identified additional information that would be required for review by Ecology. This information included the quantification of current and future flows to the receiving water body, identification of the quality of the returned water, and the delineation of the "groundwater source."

Based on our identified issues for further consideration, the City currently is evaluating possible uses for the recovered groundwater. Depending upon the identified uses, the City may decide to pursue a water-right application for this groundwater source.