Water Adjudication: theft by another name?
I attended a class this week on water rights in Idaho and how the laws are changing. It is scary! I think there should be a letter in the Silver Valley Online to tell people to have any water source they use to be adjudicated as soon as possible.
If your source of water is a municipal source and you have less than ½ acre, you will not be affected by the new laws that are coming to Idaho water users. If you have more than ½ acre and have any source of water, such as a well, creek, pond on your land you need to contact the Idaho Dept. of Water Resources and fill out their form to have your water adjudicated. Just because you think you are "grandfathered in" you are not! There is a small fee required for every water source you have but it is important that you follow the system for now and pay the fee. After you have your water adjudicated then tell your friends to do the same.
I do not agree with what is happening now in northern Idaho and the water rights procedure, but the laws in the state are being set in place, especially after southern Idaho had its waters adjudicated. Water is becoming a valuable commodity and in the future you will see a significant change is what we have always thought were our rights to water! If you have a mining claim, agriculture use, irrigation use, private drinking water source you must file for your rights. If you don't use your water source in 5 years, you will lose your rights!
If you are purchasing any land over ½ ac. not on a municipal source then make sure the water has been adjudicated. If you fail to do this, you may not have any rights to water.
This is scary. The government has satellites and they can tell if you are using water to irrigate land. They can look and see what water sources you may use. We need to contact our legislature and tell them that they need to be very aware of what the Dept. of Water Resources new laws are and what is coming in the future. Water will be the valuable asset in determining the value of land. The new changes are not citizen friendly, they are taking away rights that we have had since our country was formed. This is not being well publicized. You may have received a letter a year ago and not looked it over carefully. If you would like to talk with the Idaho Dept. of Water Resources their phone number is 208-762-2800 they are located at 7600 Mineral Dr. Ste. 100. CDA (behind Best Buy and then north). Their website is www.idwr.idaho.gov
When purchasing a home you must file a change in water right ownership. A new business has been started. It is water assessment. These companies are not well known yet, but you will see them in the future. For a FEE they will handle your paperwork and check on your water rights. I do not know what the fees are but I'll bet you won't like them!
Claudia Childress
Prichard, Idaho
682-3052