WSP03867 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

O.jHor, . . Some of the States that have separate ground water appropriation statutes have included therein provisions for determining ground water rights in areas designated therefor by the State Engineer. For such purpose, the comparable provisions of the general appropriation statute are adapted to the requirements of ground water appropriatIons. Final decrees of adjudicatIon Include such usual provisions as name of appro- priator, priority of right, quantity of water, place of diversion, place of use, and conditions of exercise of right. In addition, some Include such features as boundaries of the ground water area, level below which the water may not be drawn down, and safe yield. In Oregon, the determination of a critical ground water area may be included in the proceedings for adjudicating ground water rights. The Washington statute authorizes reservation of jurisdiction for the determination of a safe sustaining water yield necessary from time to time to preserve the water rights and prevent depletion of the ground water supply. In addition to the general adjudicatory procedure, the Idaho ground water statute provides for administrative determinations of claims by appropriators that their rights are being adversely affected by junior claimants. A local board created for each specific contro. versy determines the nature and extent of the water rights Involved, makes corrective orders, and when It has finally disposed of the claIm, ceases to exist. Loss of qround water rlqhts Loss of ground water rights by forfeiture for nonuse for pre- scribed periods of years, and by abandonment, Is provided for in some of the separate ground water statutes. In some cases, there Is administrative procedure for determining such losses. In South Dakota, any well not put to beneficial use for a period to be determined by the State Water Resources CommissIon Is declared by statute to be abandoned and is required to be plugged. Under the nonapproprl ation statute of Hawal I, a "preserved use" of ground water Is extinguished by nonuse for prescribed periods of years unless caused by water shortage resulting from natural conditions. V. Ground Water Administrative Areas Practical ground water administration perforce requires for Its functioning geographical areas with defined boundaries substantially coterminous with those of the bodies of ground water to which adminis- trative measures are to be applied. The fact that determinations of the existence and characteristics of ground water bodies are feasible represents a great advance over the skepticism exhibited by a Vermont court more than a century ago. That court remarked upon "The secret, changeiilb Ie, and uncontro lIab Ie character" of ground water, whl ch "sometimes rises to a great height, and sometimes moves in collateral - 7 -