Brief History
In 1994, the Washington State Department of Health invited representatives of the eight major municipal water purveyors in the Yakima area to a meeting to discuss the wellhead protection plans required to be submitted from each purveyor by July 1996.
The 1994 meeting generated interest in developing a regional plan. The eight purveyors formed the Regional Wellhead Protection Committee (RWPC) and was awarded a Centennial Clean Water grant by the Washington State Department of Ecology in 1996. Yakima County was designated as the lead agency for coordinating both the short-term and long-term goals of the wellhead protection program.
Gray and Osborne Engineering was selected by the RWPC in 1997 to prepare the plan. Preparation of the plan and coordination of the local purveyors, state and local agencies, and community groups occurred throughout 1998 and early 1999. The plan was approved by the Department of Health and Department of Ecology and an interlocal agreement was signed among the eight purveyors in late 2000.