[GeronL]

If they can pass a law that says all water belongs to the state I guess they can pass a law that says all of your money and your life and your children belong to the state too.

Then again, they have effectively done all of that anyways

[muawiyah]

Water rights in areas with plentiful rainfall are quite different than water rights in arid or semi-arid regions.

This has been the case since before recorded history. Oregon is, for the most part, a semi-arid region. If you have a problem with this tell it to God. See if he sympathizes.