7. Land Partition: Step 1
- Jon Pope
- May 8, 2023
- 2 min read
Hydrogeology Review
In case you missed it on the last post, our land is located in a “sensitive groundwater overlay zone” which means it is a potentially limited groundwater area. In these areas, certain developments require evidence of long-term sustainability of groundwater resources. A Hydrogeology Review is done by a registered Geologist and includes information such as: the amount of groundwater resource presently consumed, additional resource available for future development, areas where groundwater was being depleted, areas where groundwater could be depleted by approved build out, and limitations necessary to protect the resource for current residents. Our county requires this review to be completed before we can apply for a partition.
Hours after we closed on our home, I contacted EVREN Northwest to say that we were ready to proceed with the Hydrogeology Review. I was anxious to get the ball rolling and knew that this process would likely take several months. We signed the proposal and paid a 50% deposit to get started. They said it would take about 3 weeks to get the report completed. Most of the information needed was public records, but we did have to help with a few simple questions such as approximate location of existing house and well. Here is the very first site plan I created to convey our intentions:
At the end of January 2023, we received the Hydrogeology Review. That same day, I went to the county and submitted the “Peer Review Application” which is basically where they have their own 3rd party double check the work of the registered geologist that we hired (insert eye roll). I had to print 3 copies of the 62-page report and pay $700 to have this completed. The county received the application and said it would take 1 to 3 months to complete the peer review. Here is a copy of the final report for the curious minds:
2 months after submitting the peer review application, we got a letter from the county indicating that the peer reviewer was in agreement with our Geologist’s conclusions – the development of one additional lot would not significantly affect ground water availability in the study area. This was one of the biggest hurdles in the partition process, and it was such a relief to put it behind us.
Hydrogeology Report Cost: $5,100
Hydrogeology Peer Review Fee: $700
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