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.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What Are the Policies for the Water Right Areas in Utah?

For administrative purposes, the Utah Division of Water Rights divides the state into a number of areas. In a water right number, the digits preceding the hyphen identify the area in which the water right is located. For example, a water right starting with “25-” is located in Area 25, which covers Cache County.

Each area has a page that contain information and policies that are specific to that area. You can view the area information and policies by accessing the area map located here, then clicking on the area that you wish to read more about.

Area pages contain the following information:
Description: explains the boundaries of the area and important characteristics of the area.
Management: describes decrees, proposed determinations, distribution systems, groundwater management plans, compacts, and other documents that relate to the management and distribution of water in the area.
Sources: describes the appropriation policies for the area (i.e., whether the area is open to appropriation of surface water or groundwater), as well as policies related to change applications.
General: describes which newspaper(s) notices are published in, the irrigation duty for the area, and other information.
References: contains links to groundwater studies, hydrologic data, and other studies and publications relating to the area.
Map: shows the boundaries of the area and the cities/towns located in the area.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Utah Waterways Task Force Meeting in Duchesne

The Utah Waterways Task Force has scheduled its third meeting for Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 11:00 am. The meeting will be held at the Duchesne County Administrative Offices, 734 North Center, Duchesne.

To view the meeting notice and other information about the Task Force, click here.