BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Nooksack adjudication process is about to hit the “action stage” for local water users.

Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman authorized the Washington Department of Ecology on Tuesday, Dec. 3, to begin mailing out final summons and court claim forms.  After they’re printed, the forms will be sent to some 30,000 water users across Whatcom and Skagit counties starting around February 2025.

Adjudication for the Nooksack River Basin is characterized as a massive lawsuit that will legally determine who has water rights. According to Ecology’s Adjudication Manager Robin McPherson, it will be clear what action residents have to take once they receive the claim forms in the mail.

“There are instructions in the form that explain who fills it out and what information to put down – information like your address, your property parcel number and then estimation of the water that you use as your property,” McPherson said.

Judge Freeman also announced during Tuesday’s hearing that the forms will need to be submitted by May 1, 2026 – giving water users at least a year to fill them out.

McPherson says residents who get their water from a utility like a city or other public service are not included in the adjudication process and won’t be required to fill out the form.

You can read more about the adjudication process on MBN’s Adjudi-What?! series.

You can also click here to listen to our full interview with McPherson.