Water adjudication notices sent to Priest River area property owners
A graphic by the Idaho Department of Water Resources showing the water district map in northern Idaho. District 96 and 97 are located in Bonner County.
(Graphic Courtesy - Idaho Department of Water Resources)
PRIEST RIVER — The Idaho Department of Water Resources have started notifying property owners in the Priest River area that it’s time to start submitting their water rights claims.
The notifications are the first step of the next phase of Idaho’s water adjudication process.
About 5,000 notices are being sent to property owners from the IDWR asking owners to submit their water rights claims. According to a press release from the IDWR, notices will initially be sent to all property owners within IDWR’s administrative Basin 97. Basin 97 includes the Priest River drainage, the communities of Coolin and Priest River, and is primarily located in the northwestern portion of Bonner County bordering Washington.
“If you have a water right, you have to file through the water adjudication process. Because
You're not establishing a water right, you’re establishing where you are in line,” said state Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, on July 28, during the July meeting of the Bonner County Area Transportation Team. “It’s a good thing for us to establish the priority of water rights and get it all laid out in court.”
But not all property owners have water rights, and some water rights don’t need to be filed at this stage of the process. Water users who receive all of their water from a city, an irrigation district, water utility district, or a company are not required to file a claim, according to IDWR. Those companies and organizations typically file the water rights used by their customers and patrons. Anyone not in these districts who is using water for just domestic or livestock purposes, (also called de minimus water rights,) can choose to file a claim now, or wait until later in the adjudication process for a fee. However IDWR officials recommend filing claims sooner than later, because it will be more cost effective for all parties involved. Establishing a water right eliminates questions about water rights that might arise in the future, they said.
Regardless of qualification for water rights, notices are being mailed to every property owner within the adjudication boundaries. The location of many existing water uses in the area is not known, officials said. IDWR has records for about 2,700 water rights on file in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River drainages. It is expected that up to 9,000 water right claims will be filed in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River Basin adjudication, according to a press release from IDWR on Sept. 7.
The cost of filing a water rights claim varies depending on the way the water is used. Anyone with de minimis water rights will typically pay a $25 filing fee, IDWR officials said.
To file a notice of claim, go online to IDWR’s website at idwr.idaho.gov/water-
rights/adjudication/nia/cfprba.
Additional in-person assistance for the claim filing process is provided by the state of Idaho. Anyone can schedule an appointment with one of two offices in Boise and Coeur d’Alene.
The Coeur d’Alene office is located at 7600 Mineral Dr., Suite 100, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815. They can also be reached by phone at 208-762-2800.
The IDWR State Office in Boise is located at 322 E Front St, Boise, ID 83720. They can be reached at 208-287-4800.
For more information, contact Evan Roda, Water Rights Supervisor, at 208-762-2800.