As the litigation brought by local utilities challenging the King County right-of-way rental charge winds down, the District is faced with negotiating with King County the rental charge that was upheld by the Washington Supreme Court in its 2019 ruling in the case. This negotiation will result in a charge to property owners in unincorporated King County to cover the compensation that must be paid to King County for the District’s location of water and sewer mains in County right of way.
The Board will be reviewing the charge during its consideration of rates and charges for years 2022 and beyond. It is anticipated that a rental charge will be added to the bills of residents within unincorporated King County, possibly beginning in January 2022.