Water Policy Subcommittee 



Survey of Lessors 



Page 4 



o It is difficult - every creek is different. The value must relate to the priority date. 



There is no market for water rights so we don 't know what it is worth. A person 



will pay more for a ranch with good water rights than a ranch with bad water 

 rights, so we know it is worth something. In my case, it was wheeling and 

 dealing. I was aware of the other leases. There was no problem with the 

 negotiation. 



o This was part of the problem with the negotiation. The volume of water [they are 



leasing] is small but the benefit to the fishery is great. Need to consider more 

 flexibility with respect to the volume of water. FWP had a dollar value per acre- 

 foot range and they had a hard time going outside of that range. In this case, the 

 text of the law was not the problem. 



O The most nebulous part of this process is how to go about valuing water rights. 



There is little guidance or data. It came down to the cost of the changes to the 

 irrigation system that were necessary to lease that amount of water. There is no 

 clear-cut process for valuing water rights. There is a disparity in the results. We 

 could look to other states. I know Colorado has a process. The program would 

 be more successful if there was a more objective process for placing a value on 

 water rights. Landowners will compare notes. 



O We worked out a program between us. It protects me. 



If the Legislature considers amending the law, are there any particular provisions that you 

 feel should be preserved? 



None of the respondents had a specific answer to this question. Some indicated that they were 

 not very familiar with the law. 



Under the current law, the program will expire in 1999 unless the Legislature takes action. 

 [If the program expired, your lease would continue according to the term of the lease, but 

 FWP could not negotiate new leases.] Do you think the program should be: 



Allowed to expire? (0) 



Extended (7) 



temporarily (1) » ■ , 



permanently (5) - ' . 



notsure(l) • - • 



G-9 



