With the case now returned to 8th District Court in Roosevelt, the temporarily allied attorneys will face off on the original issue: whether Olds had the right to deny Roosevelt use of a well to pump water the city already has rights to.

Nearly three years ago the city requested to be allowed to take a portion of its certified water rights from its Hayden field wells and transfer them, or change the point of diversion, to the Durigan field near Neola. Olds denied the request in February.

Wright said the state has already confirmed Roosevelt's right to the water it would pump from the Durigan well, but Olds is claiming it shouldn't be allowed to use those rights because the Durigan well hadn't been used in more than five years. Under recently passed state law, farm lands can lose water rights if they aren't used for five consecutive years.

Roosevelt City Manager Brad Hancock said at the time the new law was passed legislators said it was not meant to be used against cities that stockpiled water rights to provide culinary water for future growth.

"The state engineer based his decision on an arbitrary cutback of our water rights, and this is a very dangerous thing to do when you need it the very most," Hancock said. "We're in a really serious situation because we don't have sufficient culinary water to meet our needs. We initiated this action because we don't think (Olds) has the authority by statute, and now we're in the right arena where we can test it."

Other Utah cities are following the case, which could affect their own claims to stockpiled water rights. In amounts ranging from $200 to $3,500, 19 cities have donated a total of $13,400 to Roosevelt's legal fund.

Roosevelt City Finance Director Justin Johnson said the city has paid $36,400 in attorneys' fees so far.

Hancock said every Utah city has a stake in the lawsuit.

"Every municipality in Utah is concerned about this issue if they're in the business of providing culinary water," he said.

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E-mail: preston@ubstandard.com