UTAH WATER USERS WORKSHOP

March 15, 2011

HOW FAR CAN I STRETCH MY CFS?

Kent L. Jones P.E.Utah State Engineer

Utah Division of Water Rights

Objectives

• Beneficial Use• Duty Evaluation• Sole Supply Limitations• Change Application

Evaluations• Municipal Water Use• Municipal Proofs

Water RightsMaintaining a System to Promote Order, Certainty, and Safety in the

Use of Utah’s Public Waters

Orders of the State Engineer

• Orders issued – 6,000 per year• Decisions based on science & law• Contested or disputed cases – 2000

per year• Request for Reconsideration – 120 per

year• Judicial review – 10 per year

Basic Definitions

• All water in the state is property of the public (73-1-1).

• Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of all rights to the use of water in the state (73-1-3).

Beneficial Use is the Basis, Measure, and Limit of a Water Right

• Water Right Record Characteristics– Ownership– Priority– Diversion Location– Diversion Flow Limitation– Diversion Volume Limitation– Storage Limitation– Use of water (irrigation, domestic …)

• Place of use• Amount of use• Period of Use

Change Approval Practice

• Avoid enlargement (defeats priority)– Limit to historic diversion– Limit to related depletion

• Use is the measure and limit – Limit changed duty to standard amount required for

new use

• Relinquish old use to get new use• Applications conditioned rather than rejected

Court Directives

• Mitchell v Spanish Fork West Field Irrigation Company 1 Utah 2d 313, 265 P.2d 1016 (1954)

• “The quantity of water acquired under a water right is limited to that amount beneficially used on the land upon which the use was established.”

• Mt. Olivet Cemetery Ass’n v Salt Lake City 65 Utah 193, P. 1876 (1925)

• “The extent of the right of an appropriator is limited to his reasonable necessities. The diversion and use of water creates a legal right only to the quantity necessary for the use.”

Court Directives

• Garner v Anderson 67 Utah 553, 248 P.496 (1926)

• “The appropriator of water does not acquire title to the corpus of the water but acquires only the right to use the quantity reasonably necessary to mature the crops and for other beneficial purposes. Regardless of the amount of water originally appropriated or historically used, the amount reasonably necessary is the limitation of the quantity appropriated.”

• Becker v Marble Creek Irrigation Company 15 Utah 225, 49P. 892 (1897)

• “The rights of a prior appropriator are fixed by the extent of his appropriation for a beneficial use. His right being fixed, he cannot enlarge his rights to the detriment of junior appropriators by increasing his demands or by extending his use to other lands, even if used for a beneficial purpose.”

Water Use Terms

• Duty (maximum diversion requirement)

• Depletion (potential consumptive use)– Irrigation (generally about 0.5 x duty)– Domestic with Septic waste (20 percent)– Municipal (sec. water, waste treatment, reuse)

DUTY DETERMINATIONS

• Flow measurements were used and water distributed on a number of acres per flow available:

• 1cfs per 60 acres

• 1cfs per 100 acres

• 1cfs per 50 acres

Evapotranspiration Calculations

• SCS Modified Blaney-Criddle Equation

• Modified Penman Equation

• Jensen- Haise Equation

• Hargreaves and Hargreaves Delta-Temperature Equation

• Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah, Research Report 145 UAES, USU, Dr. Robert W. Hill

Irrigation Water Use Concepts

Irrigation Efficiency Improvements Where does “saved” water come from? Where should it go?

Reducing Waste to Maximize Benefit is Encouraged.

Reducing Waste to Enlarge Use Impairs Other Rights

Changing A Water RightWhat is Appropriate?

?

Evaluation of a Water Right

• Major ElementsFlow: 2.50 CFS

Source: Spring CreekUse: Irrigation of

100 acres Period of Use: April 1 – Oct 31

• What is the beneficial use?• What are the diversion and depletion

limitations?

Irrigation Diversion Requirementfor Alfalfa at Logan, Utah

• Crop Consumptive Use (Alfalfa) = 31.35”• Effective Precipitation = 7.73”• Net Irrigation Requirement = 23.62”• Irrigation Practices / Efficiency

Flood 50% • Irrigation Diversion Requirement = 47.24” Use

48” or 4.0 AF/A

Irrigation Return Flow

Diversion = 4.0 Ac Ft/Ac

ET = 2.0 Ac Ft/Ac

Return Flow = 2.0 Ac Ft/Ac

Changing an Irrigation Water Right to Industrial Uses

• Water right is for 100 acre of irrigation• 100 ac x 4.0 ac ft /ac = 400 ac ft• Historical Depletion = 200 ac ft• Industrial use is 100% consumptive

Therefore, diversion & depletion limited to 200 ac ft.

53-109 53-110

53-536 53-374

53-95

11 Water Use GroupsUnanswered Questions

• How much beneficial use does each water right contribute to each water use group?

• What is the total beneficial use in each water use group?

• What is the sole supply of each water right?• What is the total irrigated area?

Municipal Water Use

• December 2, 2010• Policy Change• Allows Public Water Suppliers

to have municipal water uses• Public Water Suppliers are

entities that supply water to the public and is:

• A public entity;• A water corporation;• A community water system –

100 year round service connections or 200 residences;

• A water users association.

• Municipal proof requirements:

• Proof is to be submitted on the actual amount of water put to beneficial use.