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Letter makes irrigators wonder New claims could change water rights By Wendy Siporen of the Mail Tribune Certified letters sent out this week by the Oregon Water Resources Department have sparked some confusion among irrigation district water users and have kept phone lines busy at the Medford, Talent and Rogue River Valley irrigation districts. The letters are intended to notify individual water users about potential claims to the water they use from other parties in the Klamath basin. All three Jackson County irrigation districts get a portion of their water from the Klamath basin through Four Mile, Howard Prairie and Hyatt lakes. Since 1974, the state has worked to resolve water claims that predate the adoption of the Oregon Water Code in 1909 or that come from the Klamath Tribes or the federal government. It's a complicated process involving years of mapping by six federal agencies, the Klamath Tribes, irrigation districts and individual water users. Oregon distributes water based upon the doctrine of first come, first served. Those with older water rights, then, are more likely to receive water in times when there's not enough to meet all the demands. That means that if the state -- and eventually the courts -- validate new pre-existing claims to the water the districts are using, the districts could lose the right to the water in times of drought. As many as 800 claims have been filed with the Water Resources Department, according to adjudicator Dick Bailey. The combination of federal agencies, tribes and changing ownership of water rights has created an unprecedented complexity of claims, he said. "Some of the instream claims are for such large amounts of water, it could have a serious impact on all water users in the area,'' he said. While the three irrigation districts have been following these proceedings carefully, this is the first time individual users have been notified about their rights. So far, the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District has decided to contest some of the claims. While the district gets a small percentage of its water from the Klamath Basin, "we don't want to lose it," said District manager Jim Pendleton. An attorney for Medford Irrigation District is also considering contesting claims. Talent Irrigation District manager Hollie Cannon says he hasn't found any claims that would affect his district's right to store and divert the water. "There's always a possibility that the downstream (California) tribes could file a claim that would affect us," said Cannon. The current process deals only with waters in Oregon. Parties have from April 3 to May 8 to contest any claims. Hearings will then be set. But the state is also conducting an alternative dispute resolution program that may avoid litigation, said Bailey. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA