Clarifying water rights confusion

Lots of confusion may exist with a letter posted last week by Mr. Dick Erb titled “Know your water rights.” In as far as I can tell, Mr. Erb was speaking exclusively of commercial, industrial, municipal, subdivision and or non-project irrigation water right claims, not your household domestic well water right claims. A domestic well water right claim includes lawn, garden, household and or livestock use. A valid domestic well water claim can only be filed after the well is put to beneficial use for at least one of the domestic applications described above. Valid domestic wells, pre-July 1, 1973, fall into two categories. First, a valid well prior to Jan. 1, 1962, is considered an exempt well; exempt from having to be filed upon, whatsoever, with the Department of Natural Resources or the residing county. At least, that is the current ruling. However, it may be prudent to file upon your exempt wells, as legislation is likely to change the legal standing of domestic exempt wells in the near future. Second, a valid well from Jan. 1, 1962 to June 30, 1973 is also ruled exempt of filing with the DNRC but must have been filed with the residing county, pursuant to the statewide Ground Water Code, which became effective January 1, 1962. These county claims were forwarded to the DNRC, allegedly, post July 1, 1973, subsequent to the newly enacted 1973 Water Use Act. In Mr. Erb’s letter the confusion stems from the statement that, “failure to file by January 1982 meant a loss of a pre-1973 water right,” which is not an accurate statement in as far as domestic household wells are concerned. A deep breath of relief to be sure. The critical components to your domestic water right claims are the priority date, accuracy and ultimately your future legal standing. I do agree that it is highly advisable to contact the DNRC at 406-751-2241 should you have any questions whatsoever regarding your current domestic well claim status, which may require a chain of title search should you fall into the Ground Water Code time frame.

– David Passieri, St. Ignatius