Senators stump for state issue on water rights

LIMA - A pair of state senators on Tuesday stopped in Lima to reassure voters that an issue on next month's ballot is clearly and simply a preservation of private property rights.

State Sen. Timothy Grendell, R-Chesterland, and state Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, were in town stumping for state Issue 3. The issue is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that protects the private property rights in groundwater, lakes and other watercourses, the senators said.

"This is one of those unique situations where there is no organized opposition. The only issue here is lack of knowledge," Grendell said. "Everybody knows Issue 6, they don't understand whether there are loopholes or no loopholes but they know about gambling. There are enough payday lending commercials out there."

The amendment would guarantee that property owners maintain their right to "reasonable use" of groundwater underneath their property. The measure seeks to block a conversion of private property rights to the public trust doctrine, which would mean property owners no longer own or have a right to reasonable use of water on or underneath their properties, the legislators said.

"This constitutional amendment is very simple," Faber said. "What it says is essentially your water, your groundwater and subgroundwater is not subject to the public trust law."

Essentially, the senators said, the constitutional amendment gives the same ownership rights to property owners for water on or below their land that they are guaranteed for their land.

Faber also said the issue isn't misleading in its language like some state issues in the past have been.

"This is actually an issue that is very clear, very straight up. A yes vote means you support the private property groundwater rights, a no vote means you oppose it," Faber said. "This is clear yes means yes, no means no. There's nothing funny about it."

Grendell said protecting property rights is an issue about which many people can agree.

"In all the polls we did, 80 percent of the people want to protect their private property rights. You have to be pretty off the charts to not want to protect the private property rights," Grendell said. "All we're saying is we're going to take it out of the hands of future courts and put it in the constitution. The only thing not included in the current law is the water."