Quote:
Originally Posted by elchivito
Rain that happens to fall on private property doesn't necessarily become the property of the owner, particularly if it's part of the recharge for a contested or protected stream. While this is pretty dopey, it's just a tiny part of the much larger issue of water in the west.
My house water comes from an artesian spring on my place that my family improved over a hundred years ago. The unused portion returns to the creek in a tail ditch. The Salt River Project in Phoenix long ago locked up the surface water rights to the entire Verde River drainage to provide water for Phoenix. There is a huge adjudication court case that's been going on for about 25 years now and I don't expect to see end for that many more. The utility wants to meter all private wells and springs that can be shown to be part of the recharge of the Oak Creek-Verde-Salt River system and charge the well and spring owners for use. If they win, even wells within a quarter mile of the creek or river will be redefined as "surface water" and will be metered.
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Water issues in the west are extremely important and extremely valuable. If there is any kind of scheme to deny a claimant their water, the lawyers have probably already filed a motion...
It would seem that this guy maybe didn't do his homework or live up to his agreements... Story is that he had permits for these ponds that were revoked after a period of time. Why did they cancel the permits?? The evaporative water cost was likely a factor in the original decision to grant the permits. Something caused a revocation of the permits. My guess is either poor stewardship or deliberate misuse of the captive water.