Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Each of the above instream flow water rights are quantified conventionally, <br />except for the last component of the Piedra proposal. That is, they all directly specify the <br />amount of flow that should be left in the stream and, indirectly, define the amount <br />reserved for development. These amounts and the structure of the instream flow water <br />right can progress in complexity toward variable and dynamic flow patterns, like the <br />Piedra proposal. Such complex instream flow rights may not be easy to formulate or <br />implement, however, and may still not be dynamic enough to fully protect natural flow <br />patterns. <br /> <br />Upside-down Instream Flow Water Rights <br /> <br />Can the difficulty of quantifying and exercising complex or dynamic instream <br />flow water rights be addressed by turning conventional instream flow water rights upside- <br />down? Perhaps. When instream flow water rights are turned upside-down, the quantity <br />of water needed for the river ecosystem is not directly specified in single or variable <br />amounts. Instead, the sequence is reversed. First, the demands for water development <br />are defined and met, then the rest of the water in the stream is allocated to serve <br />ecosystem needs. The presumptions are that the dynamic nature of natural flow patterns <br />cannot be completely described or fully predicted, and that simply protecting such natural <br />patterns as they are, or as modified by a specified increment of water development, is <br />legally necessary and beneficial. Figure 4 illustrates the naturally variable flows that <br />could be protected with such an upside-down instream flow water right. The sum of the <br />upside-down instream flow water right and the water reserved for development equals the <br />total natural flow hydro graph, which is not depicted in subsequent figures. <br /> <br /> 8000 <br /> 7000 <br /> 6000 <br />,.-... <br />~ 5000 <br />(,) <br />'-' <br />~ <br />0 4000 <br />r+: <br />~ <br />v 3000 <br />J:: <br />rJ) <br /> 2000 <br /> 1000 <br /> <br />Water Development <br />Potential ______ <br /> <br /> <br />~ <br />~'l <br />fl <br />~,\ <br /> <br />Upside-down <br />I nstream Flow <br />Water Right <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />Oet Noy Dee Jan Feb Mar Apr May lun Jul Aug Sep <br />FIGURE 4. Upside-down lnstream Flow Water Right <br /> <br />7 <br />