Idaho Code
Idaho Code

Idaho Code § 42-3802 (2026)

Definitions. 

✓ current as of May 2026
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Definitions. 

Whenever used in this act, the term:

(a)  "Person" means any individual, partnership, company, corporation, municipality, county, state or federal agency, or other entity proposing to alter a stream channel.
(b)  "Alter" means to obstruct, diminish, destroy, alter, modify, relocate, or change the natural existing shape or direction of water flow of any stream channel within or below the mean high watermark thereof.
(c)  "Board" means the Idaho water resource board.
(d)  "Stream channel" means a natural watercourse of perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks, which confines and conducts continuously flowing water. Ditches, canals, laterals and drains that are constructed and used for irrigation or drainage purposes are not stream channels.
(e)  "Department" means the Idaho department of water resources.
(f)  "Director" means the director of the Idaho department of water resources.
(g)  "Plans" means maps, sketches, engineering drawings, word descriptions and specifications sufficient to describe the extent, nature and location of the proposed stream channel alteration and the proposed method of accomplishing same.
(h)  "Mean high watermark" means a water level corresponding to the natural or ordinary high watermark and is the line which the water impresses on the soil by covering it for sufficient periods of time to deprive the soil of its terrestrial vegetation and destroy its value for commonly accepted agricultural purposes.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1975–2024 · leading case: Bradford v. Simpson, 541 P.2d 612 (Idaho 1975).
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Bradford v. Simpson, 541 P.2d 612 (Idaho 1975). · cites it 2× “§ 42-3809 provides that alteration of a stream channel, as defined in I.C. § 42-3802, may be a misdemeanor and a public nuisance if not approved by the Idaho Department of Water Resources.”
Smith v. King Creek Grazing Ass'n, 671 P.2d 1107 (Idaho Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 2× “Compare I.C. § 42-3802 (imposing a constant flow requirement in its more restrictive definition of a “stream channel” governed by the Stream Protection Act).”
Whittaker v. Idaho Dep't of Water Resources (Idaho 2024). · cites it 8× “Laws 1304 , 1305 (codified at I.C. § 42-3802(b)). We hold that the West Springs Ditch constitutes a diversion of water, rather than an alteration to the flow of the stream channel.”
— Idaho Code § 42-3802(b) — 1 case
Whittaker v. Idaho Dep't of Water Resources (Idaho 2024). “Laws 1304 , 1305 (codified at I.C. § 42-3802(b)). We hold that the West Springs Ditch constitutes a diversion of water, rather than an alteration to the flow of the stream channel.”
— Idaho Code § 42-3802(d) — 1 case
Whittaker v. Idaho Dep't of Water Resources (Idaho 2024). “Laws 1304 , 1305 (codified at I.C. § 42-3802(b)). We hold that the West Springs Ditch constitutes a diversion of water, rather than an alteration to the flow of the stream channel.”
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