Snoqualmie Ridge golf club at center of WA water controversy

SNOQUALMIE FALLS — A golf course on Snoqualmie Ridge has emerged as a source of controversy over water use.

Amid poor snowpack, early snowmelt and a drought spanning much of Western Washington, the Snoqualmie River hit record lows this fall. And now the Snoqualmie Tribe, declaring an emergency in September, is asking the state to intervene.

Snoqualmie Tribe Chairman Robert de los Angeles has called attention to the use of water at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge, near the river’s falls about 30 miles east of Seattle.

In the heat of the summer, the club consumes millions of gallons of treated wastewater from the city of Snoqualmie. Tribal leaders say the water should be put into the river instead of onto the club’s greens and fairways.

The tribe is calling on the state to enforce rules abo