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About the water adjudication process
Klamath Falls Herald and News
September 13, 2008
The Oregon water adjudication process was established 100 years ago by state lawmakers to acknowledge vested water rights, or water rights that existed before the state’s water laws were established.
Adjudication is broken into two phases: administrative and judicial. The administrative phase involves the state’s water resources department collecting documentation regarding claims of water rights as well as any challenges to those claims.
The state’s adjudicator settles and defines the claims and challenges before issuing an order. The order interprets water law in the region in question until the courts issue a final decree.
Once there is an order, the matter is turned over to the local circuit court for any legal challenges. The regular appeals process applies and a final decision over the state’s order can potentially appear before the U.S. Supreme Court.
It is not unheard of for water adjudication judicial proceedings to continue for half a century.
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