(1) A petition shall be first presented to the county commission of the county in which the greatest proportion of cubic feet per second of ground water rights of the proposed district is situated, which petition shall:
(a)  Be signed by the required number of ground water users in such proposed district;
(b)  State that the petitioners desire to have their lands included within and subject to the assessments of the district for purposes consistent with this chapter;
(c)  Set forth and describe by township, range and section, with the degree of certainty required by law in a tax roll, the boundary of the area where, if a ground water user is located within that boundary, that ground water user would be included in a ground water district, and shall request that the area described be organized into a ground water district;
(d)  Propose a name for the district;
(e)  Be accompanied by a list, identifying the ground water users within such proposed district by name, address, ground water right number, point of diversion, and cubic feet per second per ground water right, certified by the director of the department of water resources as accurately reflecting the records of the department;
(f)  Be accompanied by a map which shall indicate the proposed boundaries of the district, and which may propose division boundaries as specified in section 42-5208, Idaho Code;
(g)  Propose between three (3) and seven (7) divisions and division boundaries;
(h)  Include nominations for a director for each division, each of which shall be signed by not less than six (6) ground water users in the proposed district;
(i)  Be accompanied by bond, to be approved by the county commission, in double the amount of the probable cost to the county and the department of organizing such district, conditioned that the bondsmen will pay all said costs, in case organization of the district is unsuccessful.
(2)  The petition, together with all maps and papers filed therewith, shall, during the county’s office hours, be open to public inspection at the office of the county clerk between the date of filing and the date of the final hearing thereon. The boundaries specified in the petition shall be proposed in such manner that the greatest distance between two (2) wells in the district shall be no more than thirty (30) miles unless good cause is shown to the county commission for including a larger area.
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Terms Used In Idaho Code 42-5203

  • County commission: means the board of county commissioners or any other governing board or authority for a county, as provided by law. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Department: means the Idaho department of water resources. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Director: means the director of the department of water resources. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • District: means a ground water district established, or to be established, pursuant to this chapter. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Ground water: when used in this chapter means water under the surface of the ground whatever may be the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving, as provided in section 42-230(a), Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Ground water user: means the legal or beneficial owner of a ground water right, or the user of a ground water right pursuant to lease or contract of a ground water right to divert ground water of the state for a beneficial use or purpose, except for those diverting under rights used solely for domestic or stock use as defined by sections 42-111 and 42-1401A, Idaho Code, and provided, that for purposes of this chapter, the term ground water user shall not include any ground water right held by or on behalf of an Indian tribe or by tribal members for diversion and use within an Indian reservation, ground water rights held by the United States or ground water rights held by the state of Idaho. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • lands: when used in the context of the property of a ground water user subject to district assessment under this chapter, means the real property where ground water is diverted or placed to beneficial use, including the facilities in or through which a ground water user makes beneficial use of ground waters. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Water right: means the legal right to divert and beneficially use the public waters of the state of Idaho where such right is evidenced by a decree, a permit or a license issued by the department, a beneficial or constitutional use right evidenced by an adjudication claim or claim based on section 42-243, Idaho Code, or a right based on federal law. See Idaho Code 42-5201
(3)  Lands of ground water users do not have to be contiguous within a ground water district, and such district may be organized even though its boundaries may overlap with other districts formed pursuant to title 43, Idaho Code, or other titles of the Idaho Code.
(4)  If the district is organized, the costs of organization shall be assessed against the members of the district.