State Funding Cuts Leave Whatcom Water Users High & Dry

State leaders have said they would provide support for the 30,000-plus water users it has sued in its Whatcom water rights adjudication court case as they navigate the extremely complex issues the state has forced on them.

But Bill Clarke, Olympia-based attorney for the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County, tells Dillon that various aspects of the funding to support water users and the court processhave been either reduced, cut entirely, or vetoed by Gov. Bob Ferguson.

This, despite the fact that the state continues to fully fund the other side of the lawsuit: its own Washington State Department of Ecology.