State engineer staff seeks to add Lakeside Irrigation Company to Spanish Fork distribution system

Assistant State Engineer Nathan Moses told the Spanish Fork River committee at a Division of Water Rights meeting that the division intends to modify the Spanish Fork Field of Distribution System to add Lakeside Irrigation Company under rule R655-15.

The change would make Lakeside an official account holder in the Spanish Fork distribution system, give it a committee seat and require it to maintain measurement devices and pay annual assessments. Nathan Moses said the modification would be formalized by an order of the state engineer and that the meeting on the proposal was a forum for explanation and public comment, not a vote: "We will not take a vote," he said.

Why it matters: Committee members and Division staff said bringing Lakeside into the distribution system should increase transparency about diversions and help the commissioner and the state track how much water passes and is used at Lakeside’s diversion. Division staff and committee members repeatedly linked the proposal to the need for measurement data to support recent change and municipal diversion approvals and to clarify Lakeside’s previously unresolved use history.

Division staff summarized Lakeside’s recorded water-right history for attendees. The company’s water-right record appears under number 5619 and is represented in the division’s files by a diligence claim filed in 1990 that lists a quantity of 10 cubic feet per second (CFS). Staff said the right’s priority date is listed as 1870. Kim, a Division staff member who presented historical records, said the company was formed in the late 19th century to use flows that bypassed Lakeshore’s dam.

Staff described several practical effects of joining the distribution system. Committee membership would increase from 13 to 14 members. Members must maintain an adequate measuring device at their headgate and pay assessments that are set by the committee at its annual meeting. The Division’s five‑year averaging method divides the committee’s total annual assessment among accounts in proportion to a five‑year average of acre‑feet used; staff said last year’s total assessment for the Spanish Fork system was $199,500, which equated to about $1.43 per acre‑foot, and that adding Lakeside would lower the per‑acre‑foot share to roughly $1.32 under the assumptions presented.

Staff also presented a five‑year usage estimate for Lakeside based on percentages drawn from a nearby Lakeshore account. Using that method, staff presented a five‑year average delivery for Lakeside of about 2,683 acre‑feet. Division staff and several committee members said the figure is a working estimate and emphasized that a primary reason to join the distribution system is to begin collecting direct measurement data at Lakeside. "We need good records," the presenter said, noting that commissioner readings and installed devices would create data useful for adjudication and change applications.

Commissioner Ed Vidmar and Deputy Commissioner Red Robinson were identified as the on‑the‑ground officers responsible for measuring diversions and producing the annual report; the Division hires the commissioner on the state engineer’s appointment on the committee’s recommendation. Staff said the Division can assist with measurement and automation projects and sometimes funds those installations, but projects can require company participation or collateral.

Multiple irrigators and committee members asked operational questions about how Lakeside’s unmetered, opportunistic diversions (what some speakers described as taking water when the river is high rather than placing a standing call) fit into the priority and distribution framework. A Lakeside representative and other users described years when Lakeside received widely varying flows and noted that storage or internal company rules are the customary ways to manage abundance versus drought. Division staff said adjudicators typically quantify historical beneficial use when a right lacks a clear administrative determination and that measurement data will make future change or storage applications easier to analyze.

No formal action was taken at the meeting. Staff said the Division will accept comment forms submitted at the meeting, and that State Engineer Theresa Wilhelmson will issue the final order to modify the distribution system after reviewing the record. Committee members noted the Spanish Fork committee’s annual meeting is scheduled for the following week and the committee also meets the day before to set budget and assessment recommendations.

What’s next: staff and committee members asked that Lakeside participate in the committee meetings and that the company and the committee work to install measurement devices and to agree on a first‑year assessment method. Several committee members said they favored a lenient approach for Lakeside’s first year while measurements are established. "I think we should be very lenient on Lakeside this year because we haven't measured," one committee member said. Staff reiterated that any final change will be made by order of the state engineer and is subject to judicial review or reconsideration by affected parties.

The meeting record contains public comments and follow‑up technical discussion about device installation, assessment calculations and possible adjudication paths; Division staff encouraged parties to submit written comments before the state engineer issues the order.