BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Washington State Department of Ecology continues its outreach to educate Whatcom County water users about the upcoming adjudication process.

They’ve mailed out 30,000 informational postcards to water users in the Nooksack Basin.

Ecology’s adjudication manager Robin McPherson said it’s a legal process to assess water use and avoid conflict and competition.

“The goal is to resolve tribal water claims and prioritize legal water users,” McPherson said. To listen to more of what she has to say on the process, a complete interview can be found in our KGMI Konnects podcast from Friday or on our Afternoon News podcast page.

Water claims and rights will be resolved through Whatcom Superior Court, which will soon set a date for the process to begin. Water users will then receive a summons with a claim form that they’ll have a year to complete.

KGMI and My Bellingham Now is offering an in-depth look at the process both on-the-air and online in coming weeks.