New requirements would be imposed on Oregon water rights transfers under a bill that environmental advocates claim is overdue but irrigators fear will block many transactions. Water rights transfers would be prohibited under Senate Bill 427 if they reduce stream flows along a longer stretch of a waterway, which proponents say is needed to protect fish habitat. … Currently, water rights transfers cannot cause injury to other water users or expand the amount of water used, among other requirements. Under SB 427, transfers that involve changing the point of water diversion would also be prohibited if they result in the “diminishment” of stream flows.