Water Rights Website Toolbox http://waterrights.utah.gov

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Water Rights Website Toolboxhttp//waterrights.ut
ah.gov

• March 12, 2007
• Boyd Clayton
• boydclayton_at_utah.gov

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Vision

• Water is the paint brush which has painted our
  past, how we manage that resource is the chisel
  which will shape our future.

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Agency Mission

• The Mission of the Division of Water Rights is
  to promote certainty, order, and safety in the
  use of the water resources of Utah.

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Fundamental Principals

• Water is the property of the Public
• Conservation of Mass (water is mass)
• Manage as a renewable resource
• A water right is a use or loose proposition
• A right has specific characteristics or limits
• Allowing enlargement defeats priority

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State Engineer

• Collects unbiased information and maintains
  records
• Studies scientific information and draws
  conclusions using engineering principals
• Makes decisions based on information available
• The state engineer shall be responsible for the
  general administrative supervision of the waters
  of the state and the measurement, appropriation,
  apportionment, and distribution of those waters

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Water Right Title Complexities

• Dual Record Keeping
• Recording in county controls ownership
• Water right records control administration
• Deed silence implies appurtenance to land
• Separate water conveyance deeds may not be
  obvious
• Pre/Post 1998 appurtenance rules

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Website Objective
     73-2-11.   Records -- Certified copies --
Evidence.     He shall keep on file in his
office full and proper records of his work,
including all field notes, computations and facts
made or collected by him, all of which shall be
part of the records of his office and the
property of the state. All records, maps and
papers recorded or filed in the office of the
state engineer shall be open to the public during
business hours. The office of the state engineer
is hereby declared to be an office of public
record
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Website Design Philosophy

• Access by All to All
• Minimize Additional Software
• No Charge for Service
• Same Interface Used by Staff

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Preferred User Environment

• WWW Browser (MS Internet Explorer)
• Adobe Acrobat Viewer (PDF)
• High Speed Internet Service
• Tiff Viewer (fax / image)
• MP3 Player (media player)
• Java VM (map server)

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Inhibitors/Browser Issues

• Popup Window Blockers
• Tiff Image Viewers (Quicktime )
• Java Support (Mapserver)
• Javascript Security

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Website Main Page
Menu
Banner
Footer
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Website Title Resources

• Title Policies and Guide Manual
• Forms
• Notice and electronic filing tools
• Use calculation Tools
• Water Right Information Programs
• Hydrographic Survey Maps (POU Info)

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Title Policies Information
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Training Manual
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Application Forms
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Print PDF Output
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Title Complexities

• Records to establish appurtenance
• Map deeds to determine land
• Review hydrographic survey, wrpou for uses
• Supplemental Groups
• Multiple Owners

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Hydrographic Survey Maps
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Sample Map
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WRPOU Mapserver
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Supplemental Groups

• 05-1
• 05-1,05-2
• 05-2
• 05-2,05-3
• 05-2,05-4
• 05-3
• 05-3,05-4
• 05-5
• 05-2,05-3,05-4

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Water Right Listing for Groups
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Sole Supply Form
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Multiple Owner Example
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Why it Matters

• Who is entitled to the use of the water?
• How did it get this tangled?
• Who has authority to straighten in out?
• Who is injured if we make an administrative
  decision?

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Electronic Change of Address
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Change of Address Process

• Manually checked for problems (title, abuse)
• Notification letter - old address of record
• Record updated immediately
• Record backed out if there is an objection

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Electronic Notification
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Electronic Notification Email
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Scanned Documents

• Use multiple formats depending on content
• Tiff (single color historical text documents)
• PDF (reports or content viewed together)
• JPG (Photos)
• MP3 (hearing voice recordings)
• New documents appended to end
• Ordered newest to oldest
• Separated with Scan History sheets

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Scanned Documents Features
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Accessing Water Right Records

• Multiple Methods to Search
• Produce short lists (query results)
• Link to master listing of water right
• Paper record is the official record

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Use Calculation Tools
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Water Right Query Tools
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POD Tool (Plat Mapserver)
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New Mapserver Base Layers
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Mapserver Tools
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Digitizing Tool
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And more, and more, and more