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Water Right Title

Water Right Title. Issues specific to the Utah Lake/Jordan River Region. Title issues to watch for:. Unpublished Water User’s Claims (WUC) Decreed Rights not in the State Engineer’s Records No Claim Filed (NCF)/Pending Adjudication Claim Changes based on shares of stock.

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Water Right Title

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  1. Water Right Title Issues specific to the Utah Lake/Jordan River Region

  2. Title issues to watch for: • Unpublished Water User’s Claims (WUC) • Decreed Rights not in the State Engineer’s Records • No Claim Filed (NCF)/Pending Adjudication Claim • Changes based on shares of stock

  3. Unpublished Water User’s Claim (WUC) • Claims collected as part of a general adjudication, but a proposed determination was never published. • The underlying water right’s legal basis is actually another document such as a decree, application to appropriate, diligence claim, etc., and may not match the WUC in all respects. • The database often reflects the WUC, not the actual basis of the right • The claim itself has no legal standing other than as evidence of the manner of use at the time it was collected. • Title work must extend back to the document the WUC is based upon.

  4. Unpublished Water User’s Claim (WUC)

  5. Online Resources • Published Proposed Determinations • Hydrographic maps (available for areas that are not published – shows locations of claims) • Decrees

  6. Unpublished Water User’s Claim (WUC) • Some Common Areas for Unpublished WUC: • Provo River – mainly the Upper Provo region • Sandy – in some areas • Lehi – in some areas • Nephi

  7. Decreed Rights not in the State Engineer’s Records • Not all rights have a water right number assigned to them • Title must be updated from the owner listed in the decree • Decrees available online, or at the courthouse. The courthouse is the best location to research for decrees • A water right number can be assigned to decreed rights upon request, but the State Engineer’s office may decide to assign numbers to all rights in the decree at the same time which may take considerable time

  8. Decreed Rights not in the State Engineer’s Records • Common locations: • Spanish Fork River • Big Cottonwood Creek – portions of • Little Cottonwood Creek – portions of • Not all decrees are listed in our list of decrees online

  9. No Claim Filed (NCF) or Pending Adjudication Claims • “No Claim Filed” and “Pending Adjudication Claim” are synonymous • Claim collected during a general adjudication on which no proposed determination has been published • Currently has no supporting legal basis • The claim itself has no legal standing other than as evidence of the manner of use at the time

  10. No Claim Filed (NCF) or Pending Adjudication Claims Solutions: • Title can be updated from the owner shown on the claim, but the claim still as yet has no supporting legal basis. • A diligence claim must be submitted before any action can be taken on applications for changes on these rights. • State Engineer’s investigation and report on the claim may in some cases recommend that it not be recognized and no applications be processed on the claim.

  11. No Claim Filed (NCF) or Pending Adjudication Claims Resources: • Hydrographic maps (shows location of claim) • Documents in the water right file

  12. Water Rights Based on Shares of Stock • Created to process change applications based on shares of stock in an irrigation company • Water right is invalid unless the owner also maintains shares of stock in their name equaling the value of the right • For purposes of title, the water right is appurtenant to the land, but the shares are not • Current practice requires copies of shares of stock to be attached to the ROC • Also called share statements

  13. Water Rights Based on Shares of Stock Resources to determine shares required: • Water company page • Irrigation company records • Water right file

  14. Water Rights Based on Shares of Stock Issues to watch for: • Currently in the process of updating the Water Company pages, so not all the data may be entered, and not all of the share statements may be shown • Changes on shares were initially treated as segregations from one of the irrigation company’s base rights, so it may not be readily apparent that the right is based on shares • Earlier segregations and share statements did not state the number of shares directly, so it may require research in the file to determine how many shares are required • Seller and irrigation company should be aware of how many shares they owned and changed under the rightBoth the individual and the irrigation company should be shown as owners of the water right on the State Engineer’s records. Older ones may not show this.

  15. Water Rights Based on Shares of Stock Issues to watch for: • Number of shares is not always shown on the share statement – new forms • Number of shares may have changed or been clarified in the change application or order of the State Engineer since at times the quantities being changed and the value of the shares did not match in the share statement.

  16. Water Use Groups • If you find any errors in the database in water use group structures contact us and we can help • Be prepared to submit a written description of the problem with supporting documentation Contact Information: Division of Water Rights – Salt Lake City Utah Lake/Jordan River Region 1594 West North Temple, Suite 220 PO Box 146300 Salt Lake City, UT 84114 801-538-7240

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