Cashmere Residents Alleged Misuse of Irrigation Water by Freedom Hills Developer
Neighbors say developer Gregg Smith is taking too much water from the shared system and if something isn't done, things will get worse
Neighbors of the Freedom Hills real estate development in Cashmere say developer Gregg Smith improperly connected to two irrigation weir boxes while building the 27-home development off Olive Street, and they are not getting the water they pay for.
More than 70 Cashmere residents started a Facebook group called “Cashmere Heights Irrigation” to communicate and organize a response to what most see as Smith’s improper use of irrigation water.
“He’s using our collective assets without permission, without limitation and without compensation,” group administrator Jeff Johnson wrote. “We need to create an irrigation ‘entity’ with the legal rights and responsibilities of the users, to include voting rights, officers, and maintenance protocols/funding mechanisms. This will be the vehicle/plaintiff if we choose to go to court.”
Another neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said she and her husband had their lawyer send Smith a letter more than a year ago. In it, he was asked to provide documentation proving he has the right to make the first connection to the line.
It went unanswered.
She said the weir they’re on currently serves 92 homes and the addition of 27 more will result in a nearly 30% increase in water demand.
“We now have evidence from the Icicle Irrigation District that Freedom Hills should be connected to weir 22, not weir 18. This evidence was presented to Greg last week. It appears he has now hooked up to BOTH weirs and is unwilling to disconnect from our line,” she wrote. “He said he is not willing to take any action right now, and if any issues arise later that he will take care of it then.”
Levi Jantzer, the general manager of the Icicle & Peshastin Irrigation Districts, said he doesn’t have any power over what happens once irrigation water leaves the districts’ boxes.