It has been stated in the Moab Times-Independent quite recently, that the water had to be used by the property owner first and that it was difficult to obtain water rights if you did not own the property. Everything is great in theory, but had they done even a smidge of research they would have found out that this idea is not true. Water rights are based on who established using the water first, regardless of property ownership.

  With very minor research and the Utah Water Rights website, anyone, because it is public information, can find out who owns what water rights, whether or not they own the property, and more importantly changes and lapses in priority ownership. 

Walk with me through the website people. Go to www.waterrights.utah.gov. Click on the “search” button, for your water right search. Choose: name/source search on owner name and type in Grand County, it’s that easy.

The Times-Independent seems only interested in publishing subjective reporting rather than actual factual reporting. The Grand County Water Conservancy has been on top of its game when it comes to Mill Creek, Green River, the Colorado River and Dewey Spring. There is even an un-named spring that they at one time had the rights to. If they are capable of keeping their finger in every glass of water here, the fact that they chose to overlook one of the more prominent ones, just proves how unimportant it was to them. Had Grand County ever meant to file for the rights to Matrimony Spring shouldn’t they have done it long ago? 

Perhaps the most interesting thing to me is that all along this spring has continued to flow freely and was available to the public for consumer use. Is it not true, that old saying, “possession is nine-tenths of the law?”

Have we, as a global community, not possessed it? Are we not the same community that put the original pipe into the cliff? What about the “use it or lose it” law? It has been well over seven years since the spring has been located, and not embellished by the county. Wouldn’t Grand County be considered vandalizing something owned by the community, the moment they removed the pipe? Or am I the only one wondering these things?

I know this is an emotional issue for so many of us young and old alike, but can’t we at least make an attempt to make it a better situation and not constantly worse?

Saddened by the whole thing.

—Brandy Stewart

Castleton