TITLE 42

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION

CHAPTER 52

GROUND WATER DISTRICTS

42-5203.  Petition for organization — Map — Bond. (1) A petition shall be first presented to the county commission of the county in which the greatest proportion of cubic feet per second of ground water rights of the proposed district is situated, which petition shall:

(a)  Be signed by the required number of ground water users in such proposed district;

(b)  State that the petitioners desire to have their lands included within and subject to the assessments of the district for purposes consistent with this chapter;

(c)  Set forth and describe by township, range and section, with the degree of certainty required by law in a tax roll, the boundary of the area where, if a ground water user is located within that boundary, that ground water user would be included in a ground water district, and shall request that the area described be organized into a ground water district;

(d)  Propose a name for the district;

(e)  Be accompanied by a list, identifying the ground water users within such proposed district by name, address, ground water right number, point of diversion, and cubic feet per second per ground water right, certified by the director of the department of water resources as accurately reflecting the records of the department;

(f)  Be accompanied by a map which shall indicate the proposed boundaries of the district, and which may propose division boundaries as specified in section 42-5208, Idaho Code;

(g)  Propose between three (3) and seven (7) divisions and division boundaries;

(h)  Include nominations for a director for each division, each of which shall be signed by not less than six (6) ground water users in the proposed district;

(i)  Be accompanied by bond, to be approved by the county commission, in double the amount of the probable cost to the county and the department of organizing such district, conditioned that the bondsmen will pay all said costs, in case organization of the district is unsuccessful.

(2)  The petition, together with all maps and papers filed therewith, shall, during the county’s office hours, be open to public inspection at the office of the county clerk between the date of filing and the date of the final hearing thereon. The boundaries specified in the petition shall be proposed in such manner that the greatest distance between two (2) wells in the district shall be no more than thirty (30) miles unless good cause is shown to the county commission for including a larger area.

(3)  Lands of ground water users do not have to be contiguous within a ground water district, and such district may be organized even though its boundaries may overlap with other districts formed pursuant to title 43, Idaho Code, or other titles of the Idaho Code.

(4)  If the district is organized, the costs of organization shall be assessed against the members of the district.

History:

[42-5203, added 1995, ch. 290, sec. 1, p. 985.]