Thursday, September 30, 2010

What Is Duty of Water?

"Duty of water" (usually referred to as simply "duty") refers to the quantity of water, as determined by the Utah Division of Water Rights, that is required to satisfy the irrigation water requirements in a given area. The underlying concept is that only so much water may be beneficially used. The duty in an area is based on the irrigation requirements of alfalfa, and duties vary across the state. For example, Summit County has a duty of 3 acre-feet per acre (per annum), whereas portions of Washington County have a duty of 6 acre-feet per acre (per annum). The Division of Water Rights' determinations of duty are based mainly on the report entitled Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah by Robert W. Hill (Utah State University), which is available here.

To determine the duty in your area, you can refer to the Division's PDF map or interactive map.

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