Bear River Basin Adjudication

 The Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) has scheduled two public meetings to present information and background about the Bear River Basin Adjudication.

The meetings will be held in Montpelier at the National Oregon/California Trail Museum, 320 N 4th Street, on:

• Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 6:00 P.M

On June 2021, Idaho Adjudication Judge Eric Wildman signed a commencement order directing IDWR to proceed with the Bear River Basin Adjudication. An adjudication is a court proceeding that inventories and catalogs water rights. The Idaho Legislature has allocated funding to support the adjudication of water rights in the Bear River Basin.

The Bear River Basin is divided into four separate subbasins, 11, 13, 15, and 17 (See attached map.) Beginning in early 2023, IDWR will send notices to surface and groundwater users in Basin 11. IDWR invites water users and interested citizens in Basin 11 (Montpelier, Soda Springs, Grace, and Bear Lake areas) to attend the upcoming public meetings in Montpelier.

By the end of 2023, IDWR anticipates sending notices to water users in sub-basins 13, 15, and 17. IDWR will hold additional public meetings in Preston and Malad for water users in Basins 13, 15, and 17.

IDWR estimates that approximately 13,000 water rights claims will be filed in the Bear River Basin. With some exceptions, all water users will be required to file claims. People who have small domestic wells and/or stockwater facilities may choose to file a claim now or wait until later in the process.

A water rights claim is NOT required to be filed in instances where the individual property owner or water user is not the owner of the water right.

Following the water rights filings, IDWR staff will catalog and confirm all water rights as part of the adjudication process. IDWR will eventually file a Director’s Report detailing IDWR’s recommendations to District Court regarding the elements of each water right. Ultimately, the court will issue a decree confirming the elements of each water right. IDWR has opened a new field office in Preston to assist water users in processing their respective water rights claims.

IDWR has conducted many water rights adjudications across the state, including the Snake River Basin Adjudication, which decreed 160,000 water rights throughout Southern Idaho in the state’s largest river basin.

For more information, go to the IDWR Bear River Basin Adjudication web page: https://idwr.idaho.gov/water-rights/adjudication/brba/