Anyone Familiar with Riparian Rights?

[N801BH]

I have been doing some research on riparian rights as they relate to private property owners.

We have noticed over the past few years that our creek has gone from flowing almost year around to only flowing during heavy rains. About two years ago a guy brought some land behind us and built a house and dammed a feeder to our section of the creek.

From what I have read this is illegal as it affects the properties downstream from the dam. However, does anyone have any experience in dealing with water rights?

The creek is on our land for about 80% of its length. The rest is along the local county road and the section the new owner dammed.

Please don't devolve this into a bickering fest.

In Wyoming we have the right to trespass across private property to "restore" natural flow of water.... More then once I contracted with an excavator to "fix" a problem.... Funny how fast a water hog can run out of his house when he sees a track hoe digging up his dam...

Even funnier is seeing him run back inside his house when the sheriff pulls up with the water rights rule book in his hand...........

 

[Everskyward]

A guy's damming a creek shouldn't last very long before his pond fills and outflow returns to normal. Legal or not? That's a local issue.

I agree. But there's also the issue of what might happen if the dam fails. Do they need to be constructed to some sort of standard?

 

[N801BH]

........

A guy's damming a creek shouldn't last very long before his pond fills and outflow returns to normal. Legal or not? That's a local issue.

Outflow is always less then inflow because of several factors. The surface area of a pond is ALOT greater then the surface area of a running ditch and that fact accounts for two main losses.....

1- Evaporation of the water into the atmosphere is greatly increased

2 - Percolation is probably the biggest water loss as the ground the pond sits on is very thirsty...

I believe the OP said the pond was 5 acres. If it was indeed lined with a rubber membrane, then perc losses would be reduced.. But a rubber membrane for that large of a pond would cost into the 6 figures , and you can be 99.9% sure it ain't lined... If it was lined with Bentonite, then that material is good, but still leaches water and the cost would be in the 50 grand range...

Bottom line is... The 5 acre pond will lose more water then the landowner is probably allocated... ( In Wyoming , its called adjudicated)..

People have been shot at, shot or disappeared over stealing water out here in the west... And it is only gonna get worse...

Edit: I am the watermaster for the Enterprize ditch here in Jackson Hole.. It is a small source that irrigates 1,700 acres, feeds 145 property owners and in a regular year I deliver about 600 million gallons to those people.. I have seen the best and worst of people over water... And , NO I am not kidding...

 

[Henning]

Outflow is always less then inflow because of several factors. The surface area of a pond is ALOT greater then the surface area of a running ditch and that fact accounts for two main losses.....

1- Evaporation of the water into the atmosphere is greatly increased

2 - Percolation is probably the biggest water loss as the ground the pond sits on is very thirsty...

I believe the OP said the pond was 5 acres. If it was indeed lined with a rubber membrane, then perc losses would be reduced.. But a rubber membrane for that large of a pond would cost into the 6 figures , and you can be 99.9% sure it ain't lined... If it was lined with Bentonite, then that material is good, but still leaches water and the cost would be in the 50 grand range...

Bottom line is... The 5 acre pond will lose more water then the landowner is probably allocated... ( In Wyoming , its called adjudicated)..

People have been shot at, shot or disappeared over stealing water out here in the west... And it is only gonna get worse...

Edit: I am the watermaster for the Enterprize ditch here in Jackson Hole.. It is a small source that irrigates 1,700 acres, feeds 145 property owners and in a regular year I deliver about 600 million gallons to those people.. I have seen the best and worst of people over water... And , NO I am not kidding...

Exactly, if you want to store water off a creek, you need to be building cisterns. That the aqueduct from the Colorado River to the California Valley is open to me is completely ludicrous and wasteful.