Washington Water Trust

What Washington Water Trust does

Washington Water Trust (WWT) is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1998 by American Rivers and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy to pioneer the acquisition and lease of water rights for instream flow restoration in Washington state. Its core operating model is voluntary, market-based water transactions: WWT purchases or leases water rights from irrigators, ranchers, and other rightsholders and dedicates that water to in-stream use for salmon, steelhead, and ecosystem health. Programmatic delivery spans water-rights acquisition, dry-year leasing during drought, water-banking via the Dungeness Water Exchange, the Lorri Bodi Water Leadership Program with the UW Evans School, and the Walla Walla Basin Decision Support Tool used by state and tribal water managers. Customers and partners are segmented across agricultural producers and irrigation districts, tribal nations (Colville, Umatilla, Jamestown S'Klallam, Snoqualmie, plus others), state and local government agencies (Ecology, WDFW, DNR, Chelan County, King County, Walla Walla County), and conservation organizations, with new-home builders served as transactional customers through the Dungeness mitigation certificate program.

WWT monetizes through four revenue streams: (1) tax-deductible individual donations and vehicle donations; (2) foundation and corporate grants (Wildhorse Foundation, Russell Family Foundation, M.J. Murdock Trust, AWS, Alaska Airlines via Bonneville Environmental Foundation, King County Healthy Rivers Partnership); (3) negotiated water-rights transaction fees from purchases and leases; and (4) Dungeness Water Exchange mitigation certificates priced at $5,250 across indoor, basic outdoor, and stockwater tiers. Go-to-market is community-led and partnership-driven — WWT brokers agreements built on decades of relationships with landowners, tribes, irrigation districts, and state agencies, supported by event-based fundraising (Fly Fishing Film Tour, brewery and cidery activations), an e-newsletter, social channels, and an annual impact report.

Operations span the San Juan Islands to the Palouse, covering 50+ rivers and streams and 1,000+ river miles, with cumulative impact of more than 7 billion gallons of water protected annually as of 2025. The organization has expanded geographically into Oregon via Fifteenmile Creek in 2026, maintains offices in Seattle (headquarters, 1500 Westlake Avenue N) and Ellensburg, employs 11–50 staff, and is led by Executive Director James Kraft. Notable project outcomes include Teanaway steelhead recovery from fewer than 100 fish returning basin-wide to 100+ spawning in one tributary, a 50% increase in Teanaway fish habitat, 1.3 billion gallons annually restored to Icicle Creek, and 423+ million gallons annually in the Walla Walla Basin.

Name

Washington Water Trust

Legal name

Washington Water Trust

Website

https://washingtonwatertrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Washington Water Trust is a Seattle-based nonprofit founded in 1998 that restores water in Washington and Oregon rivers and streams through voluntary water-rights acquisitions, dry-year leasing, and the Dungeness Water Exchange, serving agricultural producers, tribes, and state agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Conservation Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Water rights acquisition
• Streamflow restoration
• Watershed conservation
• Water banking
• River restoration services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: WWT accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals to support their river restoration work. They run one-time and recurring donation campaigns and vehicle donation programs.
2. Grants and Foundation Funding: WWT receives grants from foundations such as The Wildhorse Foundation ($28,940 grant in 2026), as well as corporate partners like Amazon Web Services for drought relief programs.
3. Water Transaction Fees: Revenue from water rights transactions, including purchases, leases, and dry year leasing programs with landowners during drought conditions.
4. Dungeness Water Exchange Mitigation Certificates: The Dungeness Water Exchange sells mitigation certificates for new home construction to offset water use impacts, with indoor mitigation at $5,250, outdoor mitigation at $5,250, and stockwater mitigation at $5,250.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Washington Water Trust is a nonprofit organization that voluntarily acquires and leases water rights from landowners to keep water instream for streamflow restoration in Washington state. The organization operates the Dungeness Water Exchange, a mitigation program that issues mitigation certificates to new home builders, and develops decision support tools such as the Walla Walla Basin Decision Support Tool to inform water resources planning.

Product overview

Washington Water Trust offers a portfolio of water conservation programs and tools centered on its core mission of protecting and restoring water in Washington rivers and streams. The organization's main offerings include the Dungeness Water Exchange (a water bank for mitigation certificates), streamflow restoration programs through water rights acquisition and dry-year leasing, the Lorri Bodi Water Leadership Program for developing future conservation leaders, and the Walla Walla Basin Decision Support Tool for watershed planning. These programs work together to address water scarcity through collaborative, market-based approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dungeness Water Exchange: A water bank operated by Washington Water Trust in the Dungeness River basin that ensures new homes built since 2013 have no negative impact on stream flows
• Lorri Bodi Water Leadership Program
• Healthy Rivers Partnership

Products and services

• Dungeness Water Exchange Mitigation program that issues mitigation certificates to new home builders in the Dungeness watershed to offset water use impacts, enabling compliance with state water resource requirements.
• Streamflow Restoration Programs Voluntary acquisition and leasing of water rights from landowners to keep water instream for streamflow and habitat restoration, serving state agencies, tribes, and conservation partners.
• Lorri Bodi Water Leadership Program Water leadership development program designed to build capacity in the water resources sector.
• Walla Walla Basin Decision Support Tool Decision support tool developed for the Walla Walla Basin to inform water resource planning, instream flow management, and restoration decision-making.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7+ billion gallons of water protected annually
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and emerging.

• University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy & GovernancesecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026WWT partners with UW Evans School through the Lorri Bodi Water Leadership Program, hosting capstone projects and interns who research water policy modernization and Streamflow Restoration Act implementation.
• Fifteenmile Watershed CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026WWT launched restoration projects in Oregon in partnership with the Fifteenmile Watershed Council. The Council is enthusiastic about WWT's progress in securing water leases for the creek.
• Washington State Department of EcologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Department of Ecology provides support for emergency drought programs and collaborates with WWT on basin planning initiatives. They enable emergency drought funding and coordinate on regulatory aspects of water transactions.
• Jamestown S'Klallam TribecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Tribe partners with WWT on salmon conservation in the Dungeness, including pulse flow coordination and salmon monitoring. Their Natural Resources Director oversees instream salmon movement tracking to refine restoration efforts.
• Snoqualmie TribeemergingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025WWT is working with the Snoqualmie Tribe in 2025 to help them assess how to protect and restore water in the Upper Snoqualmie watershed.
• Washington State Department of Natural ResourcessecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025WWT is advising DNR on how to best manage their estimated 3,000 water rights statewide, including how to meet climate resiliency goals.
• Cascade Orchard Irrigation Company (COIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024COIC partnered with WWT and Chelan County to build a new high-efficiency pump station on Icicle Creek, replacing an open ditch irrigation diversion. This allows 1.3 billion gallons annually to remain instream.
• Chelan CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Chelan County Natural Resources Department partnered with WWT and COIC on the Icicle Creek pump station project, contributing funding and coordination for streamflow restoration.
• Washington Conservation CorpssecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024WCC crews worked with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe to move rocks and set up aquadams to channel flows in the Dungeness River during drought response.
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian ReservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CTUIR partnered with WWT in the Walla Walla Water 2050 planning process. Their Habitat Conservation Project Leader played a key role in securing unanimous passage of Walla Walla Water 2050 legislation.
• Washington Department of Fish and WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023WDFW fish biologists monitor flows in the Teanaway River and collaborate with WWT on drought response strategies. Their measurements help guide streamflow restoration decisions.
• Confederated Tribes of the Colville ReservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012The Colville Tribes partnered with WWT and Helensdale Reclamation District on Loup Loup Creek restoration. They led culvert replacement projects opening 7+ miles of habitat for steelhead and contributed funding through the NFWF Accord Agreement.
• Helensdale Reclamation DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Entered into a 20-year water lease with WWT to stop diverting irrigation water from Loup Loup Creek. Used lease funds to upgrade pump station and improve water delivery system.
• American RiverscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998One of the two founding organizations of Washington Water Trust in 1998. American Rivers is a national conservation group that pioneered the water rights acquisition approach.
• Center for Environmental Law and PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998One of the two founding organizations of Washington Water Trust in 1998. CELP is a public interest environmental law firm focused on protecting Washington's waters.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Oregon Water Trust: Oregon's counterpart nonprofit water trust, using water rights acquisitions, leases, and instream flow restoration to restore rivers statewide. Directly comparable mission, methodology, and stakeholder model to Washington Water Trust.
• Colorado Water Trust: Nonprofit dedicated to restoring flows to Colorado's rivers through voluntary water rights transactions. Closest analog to WWT's market-based acquisition and leasing model in a different western state.
• Freshwater Trust (Ecotrust): PNW-based nonprofit focused on restoring freshwater ecosystems through market-based transactions and instream flow restoration. Operates with a similar mission and acquisition methodology to WWT.
• Deschutes River Conservancy: Oregon-based nonprofit working on streamflow restoration in the Deschutes Basin through water rights transactions and conservation partnerships. Directly comparable restoration model and stakeholder structure.

Others

• Bonneville Environmental Foundation: Portland-based nonprofit that channels corporate and individual funding toward water restoration projects, including connecting Alaska Airlines and AWS to WWT's programs. Acts as both funder and implementation partner in the PNW water ecosystem.
• American Rivers: National river conservation organization and co-founder of Washington Water Trust in 1998. Operates at national scale with overlapping mission and provides legacy methodological DNA to WWT.
• Center for Environmental Law and Policy: Washington-based public interest environmental law firm and WWT co-founder. Operates in adjacent policy/legal space addressing water rights and instream flow protections that underpin WWT's transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Trout Unlimited: National coldwater fisheries conservation organization with significant PNW chapter activity focused on streamflow and habitat restoration. Operates as a broader incumbent with overlapping goals but a national membership-based structure.
• The Nature Conservancy (Washington): Global environmental nonprofit with a major Washington chapter investing in water and watershed protection. Larger, broader portfolio that overlaps with WWT's mission but operates at very different scale and scope.

Regional players

• Methow Conservancy: Eastern Washington land and water-focused conservancy serving the Methow Valley. Comparable in mission around watershed protection but focused on a single basin rather than statewide.

Market position

Strengths6 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/washingtonwatertrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wa-water-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/washingtonwatertrust
• Xx.com/WAWaterTrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Washington Water Trust