Ground water that is hydrologically part of a surface stream that is present in permeable soil material, usually small rock and gravel. To take the legal actions necessary to create a right to take water from a stream, tributary or aquifer for application to beneficial use. The right to take water from a stream, tributary or aquifer for beneficial use at a specified rate of flow, either for immediate use or to store for later use. Usually evidenced by a water court decree. An underground deposit of sand, gravel or rock through which water can pass or is stored.
Aquifers supply the water for wells and springs.
A court-approved plan that allows a water user to divert water out of priority so long as adequate replacement is made to the affected stream system preventing injury to the water rights of senior users. The law provides protection to the country's surface waters from both point and non-point sources of pollution. The state agency vested with the authority to appropriate water of streams and lakes in amounts that are determined to be necessary to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. A contract between states that is ratified by those states' legislatures and by the U.S. Congress. The contract controls the division of water in a river system that flows across state boundaries.