KID Customers: The Private Lines Areas
Some areas served by the Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) are “Private Line Areas” which means that the irrigation systems were developed privately by the property owners and the operations and maintenance (O&M) of those systems is the responsibility of the home owners. Sometimes, those in a “Private Line Area” (PLA) form a Homeowners Association through which it is determined who will perform the repairs and how to pay for those services.
Although the Kennewick Irrigation District empathizes with those who have interruption in their irrigation water service past the KID delivery point, absent a local improvement district or some other contract between the KID and the property owners to provide operation and maintenance (O&M) of your system, the KID has no authority to provide O&M for your “private line area” (PLA).
The owners of properties served by a private line irrigation system can petition an irrigation district to form a local improvement district to operate and maintain its delivery system. (See RCW 87.03.480 et seq). If you are interested in pursuing such a local improvement district, please contact the KID at (509) 586-9111 and ask for the Engineering Department to obtain the necessary paperwork and organize a home owners meeting.
KID can offer no legal assistance or advice, and recommends that those having problems in their PLA seek legal counsel. Your legal counsel may find the following Revised Code of Washington (RCW) State Statutes of value:
RCW 90.03.400, Crimes against water code – Unauthorized use of water
RCW 90.03.410, Crimes against water code – Interference with works – Wrongful use of water – Property destruction – Penalty
RCW 90.03.420, Crimes against water code – Obstruction of right-of-way
RCW 90.03.605, Compliance – Sequence of enforcement measures – Location of compliance personnel
These statutes are available online via the following link:
If you do not have access to a computer, the RCWs are also usually available at your local library.
KID Customer Service/Public Relations