October 2016 – Page 2 – All Water Rights

You are ready to install a measuring device on your diversion. How does that process work? If you do it yourself, then previous posts in this blog explain how About_1.4_cfs_over_weir_edited_2_small to do that. What if you need outside assistance to get the work done? The steps to take are: 1) phone call or email me, 2) site visit with you or responsible person, with surveys as needed, photos, and any other needed information, 3) my evaluation back at the office, considering diversion size, slope, soils, water right, purposes of the diversion, and other important factors, 4) my report of findings, recommendations, and cost estimates of three or more alternatives goes to you – more than one way to get the job done, 5) you choose the option that works best for you, and then installation, which can take from two to ten hours per diversion, or longer if access is difficult, and 6) I certify the measuring device accuracy and suitability for submittal to the Water Board.

First is to call or email me, or another engineer or technician with flow measurement and water rights experience. When you call me, there are some basic questions I will ask to make sure I understand your needs:

Where is your diversion, on what creek or river? If it’s close I might be able to get there tomorrow; if it’s 200 miles away down a steep canyon, I might have to plan for next week. Some streams I know fairly well, including some of the water rights, and that helps me give you a faster and better idea of what you’ll need to do.
What is the basis of your water right? It may be a permit or license, decree, riparian, or a few other less common kinds of rights.
How much is your water right? It will typically be a flow amount, for example, 1.0 cubic foot per second, or 450 gallons per minute, or 40 miners inches. It might be just a volume, like 20 acre-feet per year.
Do you have a right to surplus flows? These may be defined in a decree, or by a permit or license. They might exist but not be defined, if your water right is riparian.
Is there any existing device at your diversion – headgate, concrete headwalls, or other structure? What condition is it in? Perhaps it can be improved to make an accurate measurement device, saving time and money.
Why do you want a device – just for compliance with the Water Board requirements, or also management, to reduce
Nuway Flume, Intermountain Ennvironmental

disputes with neighbors, and any other reasons?
Budget – do you have a set amount in mind, and how flexible is it to get a more durable, accurate, or simple-to-use device installed?
Scheduling – when can we meet, how fast are you looking to get this device installed and certified?

Step 2, visit the site. Things I need to see are access, possible sites for a device, equipment available for installation, soil type, ditch slope, ditch condition (cows walking the banks, or

isolated from livestock), and other important physical factors. I will take notes, photos, quick level surveys, and collect any other necessary information.

Step 3, I perform the evaluation back at the office. I include consideration of several devices, and assessment of which one offers the best performance with durability. The soil type will dictate whether native fill can be used for backfill, or whether 3/4″ minus road base is necessary for a good seal of the bottom and sides of the structure. Access by livestock may require a heavier device, like a prefabricated concrete Briggs weir.

Step 4, I produce a report of findings, recommendation(s), and cost estimates. This is typically a two to four page report for each diversion. All of

the information for the existing diversion and water right is summarized. I discuss physical conditions and the importance of each, plus constraints because of each site Several alternatives are given, with advantages and disadvantages of each. I detail a cost estimate for each alternative, and then I include the top recommendation.

Step 5, I will begin installation on the alternative you choose as soon as both our schedules will allow. Installation of Briggs weirs or pouring a concrete flume in place will require a backhoe; the newer sheet-metal flumes can be placed by hand, or may need a crew or backhoe for larger, premanufactured flumes. Important: the installation is not finished until we run flow through the device, make sure everything is working right, and show you how it works. If we can’t run

flow at the installation time, we’ll schedule when I can come back and make sure everything works or is adjusted so it does work as designed.

Step 6, engineering certification of the measurement device for the Water Board. This will include at least the minimum-required certification, and may include an engineering report for any non-standard conditions. Photos, diagrams, a brief operations manual, and other relevant information will be included.

That’s it! With those steps done, your diversion will comply with State law, allow you to manage your water effectively, and reduce neighbor disputes. That’s all for now, a good Sunday to all!

Back in December, I posted on the place of use for water rights defined in permits and licenses from the Water Board:

allwaterrights.com/2015/12/16/a-place-for-permits-and-licenses/

Permits and licenses have a place of use – sometimes it is easy to locate on the ground, and sometimes it is so-many-acres within a larger area. I have never found the maps with the online, downloadable documents available at eWRIMS. To get the maps, staff at the Water Board have to be contacted, and a copy of the map must be requested separately.

If you have, or some other diverter has a water right and the land has never subdivided since the time that the permit or license was issued, then a new owner will easily be able to see where the water right is diverted and applied. What if you own land subdivided from a larger farm or ranch with a permitted or licensed right? Do you have a water right at all? I asked Paul Wells at the Water Board, and he explained:

“When land with a water right is subdivided, the new owners are responsible for contacting the State Water Board to inform us of the ownership change. Additional information on filing a change of ownership may be found on the following webpage:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ewrims/ownership/

For administrative purposes, we have one primary contact for each water right. If the land is subdivided, the additional owners should contact our office to record that they are now co-owners under the right.

There is also the option of splitting the right into two or more rights. Each part would then be treated as an individual water right.”

That’s good news if you want to keep your part of the water right! This comes with a big caution – the Water Board will consider whether a permitted or licensed right has been used within the last 5 years. If not, it is possible the Board may consider the right to have expired…although it is not automatic. Also, if one person has been paying the costs associated with the water right, both physical maintenance and Board fees, as well as filing all the paperwork (now online forms), that person may contest a subdivision of the water right. The decision is in the hands of the Water Board.

This is much the same as a water right described in a Superior Court decree. If the right is areal and is a certain flow or volume on certain acreage, then it is usually proportioned by acreage for subdivided parcels. There are exceptions – if the rights are apportioned differently by written agreement, then this may be accepted by a judge later if a case comes before the court. If the resultant parcels are too small, then state watermaster areas will give the tiny rights to larger parcels. For example, at the Department of Water Resources, the minimum right is 0.005 cfs, unless a tiny piece added to one or more other pieces sums to 0.005 cfs.

As always, it pays to do your research before bringing this up with Water Board staff or your neighbor. On the one hand, you don’t want to waste your time and money only to find out your property was never part of the place of use described in a permit or license. On the other hand, if your property should have a right, you want to make your claim clear and then approach your neighbor(s) politely with plenty of evidence. Having a right doesn’t mean someone else won’t take action before the Water Board or in court, costing you time and money even if you are right. So, prepare your paperwork, maps, photos, and calculations ahead of time.

I hope you got some of the rain we have had at our place the last couple of days. That’s enough for now, have a good night everyone!

	AllWaterRights - Rig… on Write It Down (Or Possibly Los…
	Anonymous on Write It Down (Or Possibly Los…
	Reasoning With Regul… on Use BING or DUCKDUCKGO To Sear…
	Do Something Wrong,… on Measure Any Flow With Watchman…
	Flow/Volume Data and… on Flow/Volume Data and Data-Head…

Month: October 2016

Measuring Your Diversion – Call, Visit, Evaluation, Report, Device Installation, Certification

Permits And Licenses – What Are The Water Rights When Land Is Subdivided?