WATER RIGHTS ENGINEERING
Seller may tell you and historical photos may show all of the land has been irrigated – nonetheless, available rights should be evaluated – surface water, ground water, storage – to make sure things are as they seem. Changes may be necessary.
Representative Clients:
Water Bottling Facility, Willamette River basin – Change of use of irrigation rights to commercial uses; including filing for new storage right in existing reservoir.
Various clients – File new surface water, ground water and storage rights. Secure water from Federal reservoirs for release and use on property. Change diversion point, place of use, type of use for existing water rights.
Multiple changes of use, changes in points of diversion, filing for new surface and ground water rights, negotiations with administrators, state officials, water lawyers and engineers.
WATER SUPPLY PLANNING
Representative Clients:
Irrigationists, Southern Oregon – Identify options to revise irrigation practices on properties to maximize efficiency, minimize loss and use the runoff on site that does exist to ensure supply is available during late-summer months. Identify options to use / supplement water rights to support hemp and marijuana irrigation operations.
L.G. Everist, Inc. – Analysis and use of irrigation and storage rights to provide credits for mitigation of consumptive use from sand and gravel mining operations.
Sensitive, Threatened and Endangered Species – Identifying water supplies to improve habitat
Platte River Recovery Program – Research and analysis of various water supply alternatives identified in North Platte, South Platte and Central Platte Rivers to deliver water to endangered species’ critical habitat in Grand Island, Nebraska.
South Platte and Yampa River basins – Water supply / demand analyses and investigation into additional water supplies for agricultural land managed for bird habitat and reservoir operations to supplement natural flows to meet critical fish habitat flow recommendations.
WATER RIGHTS VALUATIONS
Representative Clients:
Arnbrecht Property – Valuation of direct flow and storage rights for irrigation in heavily regulated Cache la Poudre River basin.
Comerford Property – Valuation of irrigation rights in Upper Colorado River basin after partial change of use to residential uses.
WATER SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL MODELING
Basin-wide analyses of water rights yield and potential injury.
Development, Calibration and Use of Prior Appropriation-based Planning Models – Basin models encompassing hydrology, water rights, reservoir operations, irrigation, municipal, industrial, and other water supply demands developed using deterministic StateMod model. Current conditions represented with Calibrated model used as Baseline against which impacts of various “what-if” scenarios can be compared. Various river basins in Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona.
Water availability studies and water resource operations support for natural resources entities related to energy development-water use nexus in Upper Colorado River, South Platte River and Arkansas River basins – ConocoPhillips, Encana Oil and Gas, L.G. Everist, Inc., McAtee Construction Company, Solvay America, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.