Water Rights in Idaho - Essay Example

A structure applied to redirect the water from its natural source, or diversion is usually required to acquire a water right. Usual diversion methods include pumps, head gates, pipelines, ditches and dams. The Idaho Water Resource Board is allowed to acquire water rights without diversions, referred to as "in-stream flow" water rights, typically authorized to protect some public interest in a natural stream or lake, for instance recreation, wildlife or natural beauty. "In-stream livestock" water right may also be acquired for watering livestock directly from the stream (One Plan para3-4).

In some states, a landowner enjoys the right to use reasonably the ground water underneath his/her land or water naturally flowing through, on or along the borders of the land. Idaho law does not acknowledge such rights. Both the constitution and statutes of the State of Idaho assure the right to apportion the public waters of the State of Idaho. Water right is granted when a private right to the use of public waters is created by appropriation. A water right is a real property right just like property rights in land.

The constitution and statutes of the state of Idaho protect private property rights. The water rights granted to individuals enable them to divert the public waters of the state of Idaho to put them to a beneficial use, in harmony with ones priority date. In property law, a right by which property is owned by one person is subject to a specified use or enjoyment by another. Servitudes allow people to create stable long-term arrangements for a wide variety of purposes, including shared land uses, maintaining the across private lands to usual and accustomed fishing.

The constitution describes the beneficial uses as domestic use, stock watering, irrigation, manufacturing, hydropower, mining, municipal use, aquaculture, recreation, fish