(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, facilities that reclaim water under this chapter shall not impair any existing water right downstream from any freshwater discharge points of such facilities unless compensation or mitigation for such impairment is agreed to by the holder of the affected water right.

(2) Agricultural water use of agricultural industrial process water and use of industrial reuse water under this chapter shall not impair existing water rights within the water source that is the source of supply for the agricultural processing plant or the industrial processing and, if the water source is surface water, the existing water rights are downstream from the agricultural processing plant’s discharge points existing on July 22, 2001, or from the industrial processing’s discharge points existing on June 13, 2002.

Severability—1997 c 444: See note following RCW 90.46.010.