Let's Talk About Adjudication - February 2026
In this issue
Free court claim form assistance
News from Whatcom County Superior Court
Make sure your court claim form was filed successfully
We want to thank you
Technical assistance at your local library
A few questions answered
Free court claim form technical assistance available
Contact us for a free appointment. We offer in-person and virtual help with your court claim form.
News from Whatcom County Superior Court
You may have heard about several recent legal motions — documents asking the court to make a decision — about adjudication. Here’s a summary of those motions and what Whatcom County Superior Court decided.
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Dismiss the adjudication. The court was asked to hear a motion to dismiss (cancel) the adjudication. The judge for the adjudication determined that it was not appropriate to consider this motion yet. See the end of this section for the text of his decision.
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Remove the Sumas area from the adjudication. The judge determined that it is too soon to decide this issue.
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Serve summons by publication. Ecology requested permission to publish a legal notice with a list of identified water users who have not yet been served their adjudication summons. The judge will hear Ecology’s Motion to Serve Summons by Publication on Feb. 9, 2026. This hearing will be livestreamed. See the January e-newsletter for more information about the service by publication list.
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Change the due date for court claim forms to be the same for everyone. Whatcom County asked the court to consider extending the deadline for filing court claim forms and to make it the same date for everyone. (Currently the deadline varies depending on when someone received their legal summons. For most people, the deadline is currently May 1, 2026.) Changes to the deadline will likely be discussed during scheduled court hearings, which are available to the public via livestream. Hearings are currently set for February 9, March 9, April 13, and April 21.
Regarding the court’s decision to not consider dismissing the adjudication at this time, the judge wrote the following:
“Consideration of such issues before the close of the claim filing period, and before the full universe of claimants and claims is known, would be premature and inconsistent with the orderly administration of a general stream adjudication.”
“The claim filing process is intended to identify the scope and nature of asserted rights before the Court undertakes legal determinations that may affect all claimants. Until claims are filed, the Court lacks the factual context necessary to assess how asserted rights intersect, conflict, or implicate the interests of others. Permitting such a motion at this stage would materially affect summoned parties who have not yet filed claims and who have had no opportunity to participate or be heard. Deciding issues with adjudication-wide consequences before the close of the claim filing period would be inconsistent with the orderly and equitable administration of the adjudication and with principles of due process.”
For more information about Whatcom County Superior Court case documents, visit their website.
Make sure your court claim form was successfully submitted
Recently, a few people have let us know that they filed their adjudication court claim form through the court’s online Guide and File system but didn’t get a receipt. After we checked our docket sheet and tracking document, we found no record of their filing. This has only happened a few times, but it raises an important concern. There may be others who think they’ve successfully filed, but the court never received their form.
It doesn’t hurt to check again. We recommend that you make sure that the court received your court claim form. Here are some ways to do that.
Take a look at the monthly Court Docket Archive. This is the official list of all documents filed with the court. It is the best way to confirm your filing.
- Docket sheets are posted monthly and list filings from the previous month.
- Your name will only appear on the docket for the month your form was received.
Example: If you filed in July, your name will appear on the July docket sheet when it is published in August. Your name will not appear on the following or previous month’s sheets.
- It may take up to one month for your name to appear, depending on when you submitted your form.
Check your records
- If you filed in person: The court will stamp your form, give you a receipt, and provide your case number.
- If you filed online: You should have received two confirmation emails. The second confirmation email will include a sub-case number formatted like 25-2-8XXXX-37.
- Check your bank records: If you filed online, a $26 filing fee should appear as a charge on your credit or debit card statement.
If you filed online using Guide and File, here are examples of the confirmation emails from Tyler Technologies you’ll receive.
Email #1 The first email will arrive quickly after the court claim form is submitted.
 Email #2 The second email will show that the court had accepted the filing. There will be a link to a PDF showing the court clerk-stamp as well as a subcase number.
 Picture showing the PDF with the time-stamp from Whatcom County Superior Court
We want to thank so many of you
Over the past two years, we’ve been guests presenting information at many events and locations in the community. We would like to thank the following groups and organizations that gave us time or space to share information about the WRIA 1 adjudication.
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Bellingham Farmers Market
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Lummi Island Grange
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NW Raspberry Fest
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Drayton Harbor –
Pirates Fest
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Lynden Farmers Market
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Pioneer Pavillion
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Oyster Fest and Seaside Bash
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Meridian Middle School
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Rome Grange
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Drayton Harbor Maritime Fest
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Nooksack Middle School
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SeaFeast
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Keller Williams Realtors
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North Bay Community Church
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Small fruit conference
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Windermere Realtors
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Van Zandt Community
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Transition Goshen
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Whatcom County Library Branches
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Lynden Community Senior Center
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Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce
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Whatcom Backcountry Horseman
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Whatcom Farm Expo
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Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show
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We’re still offering informational sessions and are always happy to return or present to a new group or organization. Please reach out to connect.
Sign up for 30 minutes of technical assistance at your local library
Ecology staff will be at Whatcom County library branches on the following Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to provide adjudication court claim form technical assistance. Sign up at your local branch for a 30-minute appointment:
March 7, 2026: Deming, WA
March 14, 2026: North Fork, WA
March 21, 2026: Lummi Island, WA
March 28, 2026: Everson, WA
April 4, 2026: Lynden, WA
April 11, 2026: Deming, WA
A few questions answered
Question: I have an allocation under the Lummi Peninsula Groundwater Settlement Agreement. Should I file a court claim form?
Response: No, you do not need to file a court claim form. Your Lummi Peninsula groundwater use remains under federal jurisdiction. Even if you received a summons, you should not file for your share of Lummi Settlement groundwater. If you or any other water users subject to the federal settlement file a court claim form for that water use, Ecology will not accept the claim. This is not a rejection of your right to use water under the settlement. It simply indicates Ecology's position that your use is governed by the settlement.
Question: You mentioned ways to calculate Instantaneous Quantity (Qi) for the court claim form in your December 2025 Let’s Talk About Adjudication e-newsletter. Can you recommend additional guidance that I can use?
Response: Yes. The Washington Department of Health’s Water System Design Guidelines provide recommended methods for calculating Qi. Tables 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 give guidance for different system types, and Table 3.5 is the most appropriate reference for a single‑family home.
Question: What happens after the court deadline for landowners to file a court claim? Do they have any recourse if they didn’t file a claim by the deadline?
Response: Water users who do not file their claims by the deadline risk losing their access to legal water. For example, the court could issue a “default” ruling stating that claimants who were served, but did not file within one year, are out of the case and barred from claiming water in the future. This means they would not be on a decree of final water rights. The court will decide the timing of next steps after the deadline.
Resources
Contact Ecology with your questions
Information and tools
Events
Group B presentation and video from our Jan. 28 in-person workshop will be posted in the March e-newsletter.
Group A webinar for systems serving 15 or more residential connections or 25 or more people for 60 or more days per year such as:
- Cities, towns, and water districts
- Mobile home parks and campgrounds
- Day cares, cornerstores, and restaurants
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, 5:30-7 p.m.
Register at go.ecology.wa.gov/Group-A-meeting
Whatcom County Public Works is offering community technical assistance to answer questions about the court claim form at various locations. Visit their website to learn more.
Language access
If you have difficulty understanding English or have a disability, free language assistance or other aids and services are available upon request. Please call 360-407-6872.
Si necesita ayuda para entender esta información, ofrecemos servicios gratuitos de traducción e interpretación, así como Braille y ASL para personas con discapacidades. Para solicitar estos servicios, llame al 360-255-4406.
Если вам нужна помощь в понимании этой информации, мы предоставляем бесплатные услуги письменного и устного перевода, а также информацию шрифтом Брайля и на американском языке жестов (American Sign Language, ASL) для людей с инвалидностью. Чтобы запросить эти услуги, позвоните по телефону 360-255-4406.
ਜੇਕਰ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਇਸ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਣ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਦਦ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ, ਅਸੀਂ ਮੁਫ਼ਤ ਅਨੁਵਾਦ ਅਤੇ ਵਿਆਖਿਆ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਦਾਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਅਤੇ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਅਸਮਰਥ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਲਈ ਬ੍ਰੇਲ ਅਤੇ ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਸੰਕੇਤ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ (American Sign Language, ASL) ਵੀ ਉਪਲਬਧ ਹਨ। ਇਹਨਾਂ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ ਦੀ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ, 360-255-4406 'ਤੇ ਕਾਲ ਕਰੋ।
Adjudication is a legal process in Whatcom County Superior Court between the Washington Department of Ecology and all local water users in Water Resources Area (WRIA) 1. This process requires water users to self-report their water use in a form online or on paper. The court will make a decision that lists water uses in priority (old to new), including where and how much water is legal on each parcel of land. It does not involve criminal proceedings or penalties. It does not change the current law on water use.
For more information, please visit our Nooksack Adjudication website.
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