Water Rights Management

Panorama Hills Water Company Water Rights Management

Policy (Revision 2, 2/1/22)
Purpose The Panorama Hills Water Company (PHWC) operates and manages the water distribution system licensed by the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) under Water Right 25-7100 that supplies the homes in the Panorama Hills subdivisions ("Alpha" and "Beta" Areas of Panorama Hills and the Altura Verde subdivision, all located on the foothills above Iona, Idaho.) This Water Right License has a "priority date" of 12/16/1977 and covers groundwater used for domestic and irrigation purposes by the property owners (the PHWC "shareholders") within these subdivisions. The purpose of this policy is to provide the guidelines necessary to ensure the PHWC Board of Directors act in a responsible, compliant, and fair manner in managing these "Water Rights." Policy

1. The PHWC Board of Directors will always make decisions concerning PHWC activities in a manner that is compliant with the requirements and provisions contained in the Water Right License, granted for Water Right No. 25-7100, dated September 22, 2005.

2. Included in this License is the "Condition of Approval" that states "Domestic use is for 137 homes including up to ½ acre of lawn &/or garden irrigation per subdivision lot upon which a home has been constructed.”

3. To prevent exceeding the Water Right conditions of "137 homes" and the “Irrigation” limitation of 38 acres - total, the PHWC Board of Directors (BOD) maintains an official, controlled and approved, spreadsheet titled the “PHWC Water Rights Allocation List.” This List contains information about all platted lots within the Panorama Hills and Altura Verde subdivisions.

4. When a request for service is received by the BOD, they review the Allocation Spreadsheet to determine the lot’s eligibility based upon whether the lot is located in the Primary Service Area or Secondary Service Area before issuing a "Will Serve" authorization letter, which is necessary for Bonneville County to issue a building permit.
   a. The Primary Service Area includes all lots in the Panorama Hills Alpha Area, Panorama Hills Beta Area and the Altura Verde Subdivisions that have a water right or border one of the System mainlines. There are approximately 160 lots in the Primary Service Area. These lots are eligible to receive a water rights allocation under this PHWC Water Rights Management Policy.
   b. The Secondary Service Area includes all platted lots in the same subdivisions that do not have a water right and/or do not border one of the System mainlines. There are approximately 43 lots in the Secondary Service Area. These lots are not eligible for a water rights allocation from the PHWC and a building permit from the County until a new water right is acquired and approved by Idaho Department of Water Resources for transfer to the PHWC. This acquisition is typically done by purchasing an existing water right and transferring the “Place of Use” to the PHWC to cover the proposed building lot(s). Infrastructure (tanks, piping and valves) that connect the lot to the PHWC System, as approved by PHWC and DEQ, is built by the requestor.

5. Once an Allocation is made, it is assigned a sequential “Water Right Allocation # and an allocation date is recorded. If the assigned allocation is not utilized by constructing a home on the lot within 5 years from this date, the allocation is rescinded and the water right reverts to PHWC for re-allocation to another requestor. (This recension can be waived, if circumstances are reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors)