Klamath River Dam Removal Lakefront Property Lines.

[arakboss]

It looks like four Klamath River Dams will finally be coming down. Some of the reservoirs have homes built on the edges of them. When the reservoirs are drained there will be much more land between the homes and the new waters edge. Will home owner have control of that land? If not who will own it.

The largest dam demolition in history is approved for a Western river

The destruction of four dams on the lower Klamath river will open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat. U.S. regulators approved the plan Thursday in a unanimous vote.

www.npr.org

Read More

 

[albin25]

Well… that's nice…. Tribes can now catch salmon and again follow their ancient traditions …. I suppose they'll be closing their casinos and pot farms now…

 

[arakboss]

Well… that's nice…. Tribes can now catch salmon and again follow their ancient traditions …. I suppose they'll be closing their casinos and pot farms now…

Or they will be offering more salmon and suckerfish to the casino buffet menus.

 

[arakboss]

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224494403/klamath-river-begins-to-flow-again-with-dam-removal-project

 

[arakboss]

If I lived on the lake I would start fencing in my new backyard land as the water recedes.

 

[Cavedweller]

What an interesting question! If one owns a river front property, typically your property extends to the center line of the river. I don't know about lakefront. Where does your property end, at the shore? What happens when lakefront becomes riverfront? No doubt if such a change results in a significant increase in acreage under one's control, TPTB will want to increase one's property taxes proportionately.

Real estate professionals please chime in!

ETA: When my parents lost their property on the Rogue River due to construction of the Lost Creek Dam, the property was purchased by the federal government (condemned under eminent domain). Later, lakefront properties were sold by owners of the land that was not submerged by the reservoir. My guess would be that, were the dam to be removed, the land that used to be under the lake would remain property of .gov.

 

[JDubDub]

What an interesting question! If one owns a river front property, typically your property extends to the center line of the river. I don't know about lakefront. Where does your property end, at the shore? What happens when lakefront becomes riverfront? No doubt if such a change results in a significant increase in acreage under one's control, TPTB will want to increase one's property taxes proportionately.

Real estate professionals please chime in!

ETA: When my parents lost their property on the Rogue River due to construction of the Lost Creek Dam, the property was purchased by the federal government (condemned under eminent domain). Later, lakefront properties were sold by owners of the land that was not submerged by the reservoir. My guess would be that, were the dam to be removed, the land that used to be under the lake would remain property of .gov

Not a real estate professional, but I have a legal background and I looked at this a while ago. Not quite true on the property line/center line. It depends on whether on not the body of water is navigable. From https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/ww/pages/wwfaq.aspx:

"The people of Oregon own the submerged and submersible land underlying all navigable streams, rivers, and lakes in most cases up to the ordinary high water line. In addition, the people of Oregon also own portions of waterways that are subject to tidal influence. Exceptions to this public ownership are those parcels the state may have sold since statehood or that the federal government reserved or granted before statehood."

The state will end up owning any newly uncovered land. I'd bet that they'll end up selling it to a well connected develope.

 

[arakboss]

Not a real estate professional, but I have a legal background and I looked at this a while ago. Not quite true on the property line/center line. It depends on whether on not the body of water is navigable. From https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/ww/pages/wwfaq.aspx:

"The people of Oregon own the submerged and submersible land underlying all navigable streams, rivers, and lakes in most cases up to the ordinary high water line. In addition, the people of Oregon also own portions of waterways that are subject to tidal influence. Exceptions to this public ownership are those parcels the state may have sold since statehood or that the federal government reserved or granted before statehood."

The state will end up owning any newly uncovered land. I'd bet that they'll end up selling it to a well connected develope.

That would double suck for lakefront property owners if somebody develops property in their new backyard. I think a new high-water line should be set after the lake is drained. The river will never get that high again with out a dam.

 

[lucusloc]

I wonder if the owners could consider this a taking, since the waterline contributed (probably significantly) to property value. They may be due compensation for lost property value.

 

[Provincial]

In my experience, expect the County Appraiser to not recognize any reduction of property value for loss of lakefront. That would result in a reduction of property tax revenue for the County, and they will make you fight for every penny.

I also expect the environmental groups to pressure the Federal Government to keep the previously submerged lands for wildlife preserves.

 

[Cavedweller]

It will take roughly 700 acres of solar panels to replace the generation capacity of the 1 dam already removed. Perhaps they can use the newly exposed land.