“And SENIOR water users are WHO/WHAT?”
Mostly farmers who claim the junior users cheated and used more water than their allotments.
This isn’t the govt doing this. Colorado has the same setup. Senior water right users can use their allotments first, and if there’s no water left after they do so, the junior users don’t get water. If you cheat your water can be cut off. The only question here is, did the junior users cheat?