Hi Duncan, I appreciate the questions. What you have posted is a scholarly article providing background of Oregon's water rights framework. It provides historical background and context for the court's decision. According to Tom Paul, Deputy Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, one of Harrington's dams was 15 feet high, allowing him to hold back enough water to fill 20 Olympic-sized pools. He also constructed boat docks to run boats in his reservoir and stocked them with fish for recreational fishing. The plastic water tanks used in most news reel footage were not what caused the issue. I'm getting my information from the original news sources, like the article in OPB from July 26, 2012 and KCBY 11's article from July 28, 2012. These came out after his conviction on July 25th. I can provide original links if you need me to. :)