Utah Division of Water Rights

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Utah Division of Water Rights
Current Water Right Issues Rural
Water Users Association
August 24, 2007

June 21, 2004
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(No Transcript)
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STATE ENGINEER DUTIES

• Water Right Administration
• Applications
• Distribution
• Court Proposals (General Adjudication)
• Enforcement
• Records
• Water Well Drillers
• Stream Environment
• Dam/Water Structure Safety

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Utah Law Basic Concepts

• Water property of the public
• Water right obtained through application
• Beneficial use is the basis, the measure, and
  limit of all rights.
• Failure to use / loss of right
• First in time, first in right

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Establishing a Water Right

• Diligence Claim
• Surface water uses prior to 1903
• Ground-water uses prior to 1935
• Court Decree
• Applications filed with State Engineer
• Federal Reservations

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Application Process

• File application in proper form
• Advertise for 2 consecutive weeks
• 20 day protest period
• Protested?
• Hearing
• Approval or rejection
• Reconsideration/Judicial Review
• Develop, proof of beneficial use
• Certificate

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Water Appropriation Policy
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Approval Criteria

• Unappropriated water in source.
• Will not impair existing rights.
• Physically and economically feasible.
• Not monopolistic / speculation.
• In the public interest / welfare.

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Changing a Water Right

• Point of diversion.
• Place of use.
• Nature of use.
• Period of use.
• Pertinent issues
• Same approval criteria as appropriations
• No enlargement (give to get)
• Must be entitled to use of water

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Nonuse/Forfeiture

• Pressure to beneficially use water or allow right
  to revert to the public for other use
• 5 years triggers, 15 years erases
• Judicial action to finalize
• Nonuse application exempts
• Date water was last used
• Must be extended or placed back to use
• Poor policing fuels speculation/uncertainty
• Ignoring promotes monopoly

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Tricky Issues

• All water rights may not be of record
• Ownership/appurtenance/recording
• Head in underground water is not a right
• Nonuse/Forfeiture
• Evaluation of equivalent use
• Change still looks at sources
• Surface to underground changes

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Municipal Water Rights

• Operate the same as other water rights
• Who is a public water supplier?
• What is the beneficial use?
• What is the place of use?
• Can it expand over time?
• How much is enough?
• Holding applications for future use is due
  diligence
• Nonuse applications for future use allowed
• Additional legislation being considered

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Title Update (ROC)

• Workload increasing (20 - 30 per year)
• Goal to improve processing time
• Additional positions tied to processing fee
• Application form possibilities simplified
• One right per ROC
• Grantor to grantee order
• Online assisted form
• Online status database
• Mandatory administrative process

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Processing Applications

• Changes increasing (more complex)
• Prioritizing complexity for timely processing
• Agency has a history of assistance
• Need to focus on decision making
• Applicant responsibility must increase
• Providing tools to help

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Proof / Certificates

• Significant backlog due in part to quality
• Proofs must be complete when submitted
• Must address approved application
• Clearly identify beneficial use
• Dont be obscure
• Certificates are a partnership with SE
• Fraudulent proofs may be pursued

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Adjudication

• Deliberate legal process defined in statute
• Notice
• Inventory of all uses, SE records
• Water user claims
• Proposed determination published
• Objections
• Court resolution to final decree
• Using dedicated team to improve
  performance/quality
• Process Improvements
• Accomplished changes not recognized
• Title updates by ROC
• Quantify, quantify, quantify
• Immediately identify disallowed claims

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Water Measurement

• Timely shared information is the best tool to
  resolve disputes
• All users have responsibility to provide
  measuring and control devices
• Partnerships are being used to automate
  reporting, and they work
• Diversion records define use

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Groundwater Management

• Basins managed on safe yield (sustainable)
• Statute charges SE to address overdrafts
• Tools are priority or voluntary arrangements
• Financial impact inevitable
• Plans are created in public

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Utah/Nevada Water Right Negotiations
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Utah/Nevada (Continued)

• Define the safe yield
• Define existing water rights
• Allocate remaining water between the states
• Allow each state to manage their water

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Questions?