Usually it is not known or not provided because it depends from many strands. Some Utah water (irrigation) companies try to keep it around 4 [af/sh], but in a drought it is less.

Blog Article by attorney Gittings

A blog written by a Utah water rights lawyer Jeff Gittins with recent case law summaries, legislative updates, and informative articles about Utah water law.

---

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Conversion of Shares into Acre-Feet

People often ask me how to convert shares into acre-feet. Unfortunately, the answer is not as easy as one might expect.
At the outset, please note that this post focuses on water shares, not water rights. To understand the distinction, visit here and here. Water rights should already have acre-foot quantities associated with them--with the exception of certain circumstances, including undefined sole supply amounts for a water right.
The amount of water associated with a share in a water company (irrigation company, ditch company, canal company, etc.) is not consistent between companies. As an example, there is one water company that I know of where 1 share is equal to 1/10th of an acre-foot of water, and there is another water company that I know of where 1 share is equal to 6 acre-feet of water. The determination of how many acre-feet are associated with each share in a water company is, for the most part, a function of three components:

1. How many total acre-feet the water company is entitled to under its water rights, leases, contracts, etc.;
2. How many shares have been issued in the water company;
3. How much water the water company's source(s) are able to produce.

As an example, suppose that a water company's water rights, in total, allow for the diversion of 1,000 acre-feet of water from a river for the irrigation of 250 acres (assuming the water company is in an area of the state where the duty is 4 acre-feet per acre). Further suppose that the water company has issued 250 shares of stock. On paper, each share would entitle the owner to irrigate 1 acre with 4 acre-feet of water. Thus, each share represents 4 acre-feet of water. But if it is a drought year and the river is running low, each shareholder may not actually receive 4 acre-feet of water per share.
Some water companies know how many acre-feet are represented by each share, usually because of shareholder change applications or other applications that have previously been filed with the Utah Division of Water Rights. In fact, the Division keeps a list of water companies, and the list includes a spot for information about the number of acre-feet per share. Some companies have this information (see example below), but most do not. The reality is that many water companies will not know how many acre-feet are represented by each share, and a determination of this number could take some investigation, research, and calculation.

You must own a water right to divert and use water in the State of Utah. Water well drillers are licensed and cannot drill a well unless permission to drill has been obtained from the State Engineer. You must determine if your area is open, restricted or closed to new water rights. This will determine which application you need to file. Click Here to see if your area is open, restricted or closed.
In areas that are open to appropriation you can apply to appropriate new water. In areas closed to new appropriation you will need to acquire all or part of an existing water right and file a change application to change it's attributes to cover your use of the water right.
Applications can be found on our website here. Fill out the application, submit it to your regional office, and pay the filing fee.
Both application processes (appropriate and change) require public notice and a decision by the State Engineer, which take time to complete. You need to allow several months between the time you apply and the time a decision will be made. A favorable decision will include permission to drill the well. In some instances, provisional drilling authority (a "rush letter") can be issued which will allow the driller to start immediately on the well. A rush letter does not include permission to use the water.

WR are classified as “real property” in the state of Utah and are bought and sold much like real estate. Many real estate agencies will have listings for WR much as they do for properties. First, you should determine where you intend to use the water (“the place of use”) and how you will use the water (“the beneficial uses”). These two factors will largely determine the area in which a suitable right may be purchased and how large an interest in a right you will need. Specific policy guidelines for different areas in the state are available at this link.
For example, if you need water in the northern portion of Cedar City Valley for a single family residence (one family domestic use), two head of livestock (cows or horses or equivalent in sheep, goats, barnyard fowl, etc.), and irrigation of about 1/8-acre of landscape, garden, etc., you will need to purchase an interest in a northern Cedar City Valley water right sufficient to provide for a diversion allowance of about 1.0 acre-foot. This estimate is based on current standard requirements of 0.45 acre-foot for domestic (indoor only) use, 0.028 acre-foot for stockwatering of one cow or horse (or equivalent) and 4.0 acre-feet per one acre of irrigation. more...
If you desire a different nature or extent of use than those in this example, you can use those same standards to determine your acre-foot needs. The right you purchase will likely be an irrigation right, for example 1.0 acre-foot for 0.25 acres of irrigation. Once a suitable water right interest has been identified and you know the owner and water right number, you are advised to consult with the Regional Office of the Division of WR for the area of interest to determine if the right is likely going to be suitable for your intended uses. Once you are satisfied a suitable right has been identified, the owner(s) of the right must execute a deed conveying that interest to you. Once the deed has been executed and recorded in the county (in which the water is presently diverted), a Report of Water Right Conveyance must then be filed with the Division of WR to document that transaction. Once that filing has been made, verified and processed (usually takes one to two weeks), you can then work with personnel of the Division of WR to fil a change application to make any necessary changes to the water right as to source of water, place of use or nature of use.

It was 30 feet deep.
Essentially, the exemption for the regulation of construction of wells 30 feet deep or less was removed (Aug 8, 2022) from the Rules in order to allow the State Engineer to regulate all water wells.

You must own a water right to divert and use water in the State of Utah. Water well drillers are licensed and cannot drill a well unless permission to drill has been obtained from the State Engineer. You must determine if your area is open, restricted or closed to new water rights. This will determine which application you need to file. Click Here to see if your area is open, restricted or closed.
In areas that are open to appropriation you can apply to appropriate new water. In areas closed to new appropriation you will need to acquire all or part of an existing water right and file a change application to change it’s attributes to cover your use of the water right.
Applications can be found on our website here. Fill out the application, submit it to your regional office, and pay the filing fee.
Both application processes (appropriate and change) require public notice and a decision by the State Engineer, which take time to complete. You need to allow several months between the time you apply and the time a decision will be made. A favorable decision will include permission to drill the well. In some instances, provisional drilling authority (a "rush letter") can be issued which will allow the driller to start immediately on the well. A rush letter does not include permission to use the water.

WR are classified as “real property” in the state of Utah and are bought and sold much like real estate. Many real estate agencies will have listings for WR much as they do for properties. First, you should determine where you intend to use the water (“the place of use”) and how you will use the water (“the beneficial uses”). These two factors will largely determine the area in which a suitable right may be purchased and how large an interest in a right you will need. Specific policy guidelines for different areas in the state are available at this link.
For example, if you need water in the northern portion of Cedar City Valley for a single family residence (one family domestic use), two head of livestock (cows or horses or equivalent in sheep, goats, barnyard fowl, etc.), and irrigation of about 1/8-acre of landscape, garden, etc., you will need to purchase an interest in a northern Cedar City Valley water right sufficient to provide for a diversion allowance of about 1.0 acre-foot. This estimate is based on current standard requirements of 0.45 acre-foot for domestic (indoor only) use, 0.028 acre-foot for stockwatering of one cow or horse (or equivalent) and 4.0 acre-feet per one acre of irrigation. more...
If you desire a different nature or extent of use than those in this example, you can use those same standards to determine your acre-foot needs. The right you purchase will likely be an irrigation right, for example 1.0 acre-foot for 0.25 acres of irrigation. Once a suitable water right interest has been identified and you know the owner and water right number, you are advised to consult with the Regional Office of the Division of WR for the area of interest to determine if the right is likely going to be suitable for your intended uses. Once you are satisfied a suitable right has been identified, the owner(s) of the right must execute a deed conveying that interest to you. Once the deed has been executed and recorded in the county (in which the water is presently diverted), a Report of Water Right Conveyance must then be filed with the Division of WR to document that transaction. Once that filing has been made, verified and processed (usually takes one to two weeks), you can then work with personnel of the Division of WR to fil a change application to make any necessary changes to the water right as to source of water, place of use or nature of use.

The use of water without a water right is a trespass against the State of Utah and can lead to fines of up to $500 per day of use. If you are using water illegally, you can be required to stop taking and using water.

Article's Thesis:

Snowpack accumulating in mountain ranges each winter is the principal source of water in the western United States. Most mountain ranges are now reserved as national forests. However, many private and public facilities that collect, store, transport, and distribute water are constructed on easements granted under various federal laws during the nineteenth and the first three quarters of the twentieth century. Without these facilities, water right holders cannot divert and transport their water to its intended beneficial use.
During recent decades, conflicts between the federal government, which manages the forests and other federal land, and water right holders arose, particularly when water right holders have sought to maintain, rebuild, or expand their water facilities on federal land. Thus far, when faced with adjudicating these disputes, courts have not considered the constitutionally protected property aspect of state appropriated water rights of the water these facilities convey. Courts have sanctioned governmental edicts exacting part or all of these water rights by requiring bypass flows, conservation pools, and even prohibiting maintenance of water facilities under a deferential “reasonable regulation” standard of review.
In adjudicating these disputes, courts should recognize that water right holders have a constitutionally protected property right in the water. Furthermore, courts should utilize the test developed by the United States Supreme Court in two seminal opinions on the constitutionality of similar exactions by local governments as part of land use approvals. The Nollan/Dolan, nexus/rough proportionality test is constitutionally appropriate to determine if an exaction of water imposed by the federal government as a condition of continued use of water facilities on federal land rises to the level of a compensable taking.

Read full J. Craig Smith's Article

Stop diverting and using water. The law provides for penalties if a threat of illegal diversion exists. In order to avoid a threat, you should take action to make sure that you make your system incapable of diverting water. Such action may range from simple (removing a pump or severing and capping a supply line,for example), to moderately difficult (lowering a spillway to the streambed or welding an outlet pipe valve open) to very difficult (removing a dam).
You may be required to obtain permits from other agencies to remove some projects. A general list of agencies with responsibility over water projects and brief description of when those agencies may require a permit is provided above. You may be able to purchase water from a legal water user. The Division of Water Rights staff may be aware of other legal water users from whom you can obtain either water or a secondary authority to divert water. The use of water without a water right is a trespass against the State of Utah and can lead to fines of up to $500 per day of use. If you are using water illegally, you can be required to stop taking and using water.

Rainwater harvesting is now legal in the state of Utah, starting May 11 2010. Senate Bill 32 was approved in the 2010 session that provides for the collection and use of precipitation without obtaining a water right after registering on the Division of Water Rights.

Because water in Utah is considered a scarce and valuable public resource, Utah's laws have been designed to encourage full responsible development of water supplies and to discourage efforts to speculate in or monopolize the resource. As a result of this approach, it has been believed necessary to assure that those who acquire rights to the use of Utah's water actually place it to beneficial use. Although the statute has changed since first adopted in 1903, the current law states as follows in Utah Code Section 73-1-4:
“When an appropriator or the appropriator's successor in interest abandons or ceases to use all or a portion of a water right for a period of seven years, the water right or the unused portion of that water right is subject to forfeiture in accordance with Subsection (2)(c)..”
The failure to continue to beneficially use water is “excused” in a variety of circumstances such as during times of extended drought when a supply of water is not available. (You can read the full statute at this link.)
Before a water right (all or in part) is forfeited for nonuse, a State District Court must make a declaration of forfeiture. Such a ruling can come in a private suit or, as is most common, as part of a “General Adjudication of Water Rights” covering a larger area. To learn more about “Adjudication,” more...
The statute governing cessation of rights for non-use, as quoted above, continues:
. . unless the appropriator or the appropriator's successor in interest files a nonuse application with the state engineer.”
This portion of the law is addressing an “Application for Nonuse of Water” which can be filed with the State Engineer to protect a water right from cessation during a period of time when a water user is prevented from beneficially using water due to unavoidable circumstances such as economic depression or legal proceedings. (The full list of acceptable reasons for non-use is spelled out in the statute.)
Any water user with questions or concerns regarding the operation of Utah's “use it or lose it” statute is advised to contact the appropriate region office of the Division of Water Rights and/or to seek competent legal counsel.

Submit our complaint form and call us after, 435-691-2489. We will answer your all questions.