September 23, 2014

Mr. Lacy

discussed a system of water rights banking for future use so that one would not need to waste water in to prove beneficial use. During discussion about “grandfathering” of domestic wells, Ms. Barnett and Mr. Hafen related that every water user in Basin 162 needs to be part of a solution. There should be no exemptions. A debate followed among committee members. Walt Kuver thought that domestic wells might be considered on equal footing as that of paper water rights. Judith Holmgren, member of the public, felt that wasting of water on irrigation of fields was a serious matter and that an alternative method to preserve one’s 3 Groundwater Advisory Committee September 23, 2014 rights must be found. There was discussion about the apathy of domestic well owners with regards to the current water crisis and how new regulations might affect future well owners. Greg Dann noted that by grandfathering domestic wells they would be allowed to use 2 AF of water into perpetuity. Walt Kuver recommended that the GWMP should provide some sort of protection to domestic well owners, the details of which need to be worked out, but not in the form of a BDR. Wendy Barnett felt that water usage data needs to be collected from domestic wells and owners must be reassured that they will not be taxed or penalized based upon their water usage. Data collected may very well lend support to the notion that doing nothing is a viable option for the Water District. Greg Dann noted that there is huge resistance by the general public to the metering of domestic wells in the valley, although people are very interested in having their static water levels measured. There was more discussion about changing law so that people would not resort to wasting water to prove beneficial use. Public member, Kenny Bent, suggested that the definition of beneficial use be defined to require that the usage must be productive. Walt Kuver felt that the term “over allocated” should be defined by state statute. Some members agreed that there was an urgent need to define the term while others disagreed. There was discussion about the negative effects upon the valley should the State Engineer begin to regulate by priority date. Kenny Bent had concerns about a proposal to buy back water rights that are not being used in order to avoid water wasting. He also feared what definition the state might decide to use. There was some discussion about equity being established by dividing the perennial yield by the number of approved rights. Even if all domestic wells were banned, the basin would still be over-allocated. There was some discussion about restricting or suspending the use of water rights in a designated basin. Gregory Hafen talked about proposing a BDR that would require all new wells to have a meter installed. He noted that utility wells already have meters and that data is reported to the state. Darrell Lacy stated that there are a lot of domestic wells that have changed to commercial use and need to have meters installed. Due to time constraints it was decided to skip ahead on the list to the smaller section, M. M. Water Quality – During a discussion about water quality testing, Greg Dann suggested that static water levels be measured at the same time. Joe Leising, public member, related that age dating water is not important as far as quality is concerned. Waters that recharge the aquifer need to be protected from contamination by supporting the Wellhead Protection Plan that has already been adopted by the Water District. Committee members will review that plan and comment at a future meeting. There was a short discussion about implementing a cross connection control plan by requiring backflow devices on all water connections. 4 Groundwater Advisory Committee September 23, 2014