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Engineers and water experts warn revegetation is inconsistent after water transfers; call for standards and long-term accountability
Summary
Deputy State Engineer Sarah Brucker told lawmakers that Division of Water Resources enforces "dry up" terms but lacks expertise to certify revegetation; independent experts said revegetation often fails, recommended firm establishment criteria, post-establishment management, and withholding new water uses until revegetation is completed.
Water-right transfers and water-conservation transactions that remove irrigation from land often require revegetation to prevent weeds, erosion and community burdens, but witnesses told a legislative committee that practice and enforcement vary widely and frequently fall short.
Sarah Brucker, Deputy State Engineer with the Division of Water Resources, explained the agency's role: the Division evaluates whether "dry up" terms in change-of-use decrees are met to avoid injury to other water-right holders, but…
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