irrigation from a creek; do I need a permit and tips/advice

[rkeith]

I'm thinking about irrigating my garden from a creek that borders my property (property goes to the center chord of the creek). The run off will go back to the creek because it's so close. Do I need a permit for this and if so who do I start with? I'm in Alabama so would I start with the small city I live in, ADEM (Alabama Dept of Enviro Mngmt), or the Army Corp of Engineers?

The reason for irrigating from the creek is because the creek is about 50' from my planned garden vs 250' from my closest water source (garden hose connection on my house).

My plan is to have a square garden with raised sprinklers about 2'-3' above the ground in each corner.

 

[dave1949]

Depending on several factors, they might tell you to increase the distance between your garden and the creek. The idea is to prevent run-off into creeks which carries sediment and whatever residues are present from using various garden chemicals like fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, etc.

 

[dmccarty]

You are going to have to ask someone who has information about your area. Heck, if you were out west, you might not even own the water in the creek. :shocked:

I would start with the county extension office.

Later,
Dan

 

[Mousefield]

Here in the province of British Columbia you do need a licence to take water from a creek or river. We are lucky that our licence goes back to 1929. They are very hard to come by now although some people will take water without a licence. Of course there is a cost for the licence which seems to go up every time (3 years) you renew.

 

[JakeBrake]

I am a next-door neighbor in Mississippi. My first stop would be to check with my county district supervisor.

In Mississippi each county is highly independent, so the rules in one county may not apply to another county.

Personally, it would not occur to me that I would need a permit to withdraw water from a creek that runs through my property. Many years ago I built a lowhead dam across a creek that runs through my property and the beavers do that regularly.

But, these days, who knows? Good luck!

 

[DT86]

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

 

[brin]

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[El Wood]

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

What he said!

 

[dmccarty]

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

Not with these sort of issues. The forgiveness can be very expensive. Years ago a guy timbered property in Raleigh. Raleigh had regulations covering timbering and this buy violated a bunch of them. They fined him twelve ways to Sunday. I think he was fined three times the value of the trees. He had to replace the trees as well. Not sure how you replace decades old pine trees but that was his problem. If this guy had timbered my land, he would have been perfectly fine.

Now, I suspect the OP is not going to run into these sort of disaster stories but I would danged well find out. In some states, and I would be shocked if his state is one of them, he might not even own the water in that creek and a taking of that water would be theft. I read years ago that the UNDERGROUND water in a county near Wilmington NC is owned by a company. To drill a well and pump water you pay that company. I still find it hard to believe.

Later,
Dan

 

[Baby Grand]

It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
The issue is will you be granted forgiveness, and if not, what form will the consequences take?
People view their water rights differently, so find out what your rights are before you do anything.
May not raise an eyebrow, depending on where you live, or might start a war.