Water Rights Website Toolboxhttp://waterrights.utah.gov

March 12, 2007

Boyd Clayton

boydclayton@utah.gov

Vision

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

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.

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

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”

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

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…

Website Design Philosophy

• Access by All to All

• Minimize Additional Software

• No Charge for Service

• Same Interface Used by Staff

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)

Inhibitors/Browser Issues

• Popup Window Blockers

• Tiff Image Viewers (Quicktime …)

• Java Support (Mapserver)

• Javascript Security

Website Main Page

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)

Title Policies Information

Training Manual

Application Forms

Print PDF Output

Title Complexities

• Records to establish appurtenance– Map deeds to determine land– Review hydrographic survey, wrpou for uses

• Supplemental Groups

• Multiple Owners

Hydrographic Survey Maps

Sample Map

WRPOU Mapserver

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

Water Right Listing for Groups

Sole Supply Form

Multiple Owner Example

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?

Electronic Change of Address

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

Electronic Notification

Electronic Notification Email

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

Scanned Documents Features

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

Use Calculation Tools

Water Right Query Tools

POD Tool (Plat Mapserver)

New Mapserver Base Layers

Mapserver Tools

Digitizing Tool

And more, and more, and more