Title 61, Waters

The board of flood irrigation of any flood irrigation project shall be and is empowered to levy a special tax against all land located within any particular pond in the project to be used for necessary ditching of lands located within the particular pond of the flood irrigation p…

The board of flood irrigation of any flood irrigation project shall have the right upon the payment of all the bonded debt of the flood irrigation project, by resolution, to transfer any and all funds then remaining in the sinking fund of the project to the maintenance fund of th…

A corporation or limited liability company may be formed for the purpose of acquiring water rights, or for the purpose of establishing, owning, leasing, operating, and maintaining an irrigation system and selling, distributing, supplying, and delivering water for irrigation purpo…

A corporation or limited liability company organized for irrigation purposes may: 1. Engage in any corporate activity not otherwise prohibited by law and not inconsistent with the purposes mentioned in section 61-13-01. 2. Acquire water rights, easements, sites, and all means, pr…

Any corporation organized for irrigation purposes may provide in its articles of incorporation or bylaws that water shall be sold, distributed, supplied, or delivered only to owners of its shares of stock and that such shares shall be appurtenant to the lands described in the cer…

Any limited liability company organized for irrigation purposes may provide in the articles of organization or bylaws that water must be sold, distributed, supplied, or delivered only to owners of the limited liability company's membership interests and that these membership inte…

Any corporation or limited liability company organized for irrigation purposes, unless otherwise provided in its articles of incorporation or bylaws, may levy assessments upon its capital stock whether or not such stock is paid in full. If any shares of stock of any such corporat…

The standard of measurement for the flow and volume of water shall be established by rule by the department of water resources.

When issuing a permit to appropriate water for irrigation or adjudicating the rights to use water for irrigation, the department of water resources may not allow more than two acre-feet [2466.96 cubic meters] of water per acre [.40 hectare] per year, or the equivalent, to be deli…

Every ditch owner shall construct and maintain a substantial headgate at the point where the water is diverted and shall construct a measuring device, of a design approved by the department of water resources, at the most practicable point for measuring and apportioning the water…

Any person interfering with or injuring or destroying any headgate, weir, benchmark, well, or other appliance or works for the appropriation, diversion, storage, apportionment, or measurement of water, or for any hydrographic or hydrologic surveys, or interfering with any person …

The unauthorized use of water to which another person is entitled, or the willful waste of water to the detriment of another, shall be unlawful. It also shall be unlawful to begin or carry on any construction of works for storing or carrying water until after the issuance of a pe…

The owner of any ditch, canal, or other structure for storing or carrying water shall construct and maintain a bridge where the same crosses any highway or publicly traveled road, in accordance with the requirements of the state agency or political subdivision which has control o…

Whenever any appropriator of water has the right of way for the storage, diversion, or carriage of water, it shall be unlawful to place or maintain any obstruction which shall interfere with the use of the works or prevent convenient access thereto.

If no penalty is provided specifically, any violation of the provisions of this chapter, declared herein to be unlawful, shall be a class B misdemeanor.

All liens on land, provided for in chapter 61-09, shall be superior in right to all mortgages or other encumbrances placed upon the land and the water appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith.

A person wishing to use seepage water from a constructed works shall apply to the department of water resources for the use in the same manner as applying for a permit to use unappropriated water and shall pay to the owner of the works a reasonable charge for the storage or carri…

No lands belonging to the state, within the areas to be irrigated from works constructed or controlled by the United States, or its duly authorized agencies, shall be sold except in conformity with the classification of farm units by the United States, and the title to such lands…

It is unlawful for any person to divert any of the water from any irrigation works in this state without first having obtained the permission of the owner of the works or of the person or persons lawfully in charge thereof.

No person may place, erect, or operate a sprinkler irrigation system, center pivot irrigation system, or other irrigation works or equipment upon or across any highway, street, or road or in such a manner as to willfully allow water from the irrigation works or equipment to flow …

The authority, control, and supervision of all water and wildlife conservation projects and wildlife reservations is vested in the department of water resources. The department may accept cooperation, aid, and assistance from the United States of America, its instrumentalities or…

An easement may be granted to the United States, its instrumentalities or agencies, over all lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the state of North Dakota for rights of way for ditches, dams, dikes, fills, spillways, or other structures now constructed or to be constructed f…

The board of university and school lands may grant to the United States of America, its instrumentalities or agencies, such easement rights as may be required for the construction, maintenance, and operation of any dam, dike, ditch, fill, spillway, or other structure erected or t…

The department of water resources shall take any necessary action to conserve the water levels and rehabilitate the streams and brooks in the Turtle Mountain region of North Dakota lying in Bottineau and Rolette Counties.

Any municipality owning or permanently controlling land upon which a proposed dam is to be constructed may construct a dam thereon and across that portion of the Red River of the North which forms a part of the boundary common to the state of North Dakota and the state of Minneso…

1. Before a political subdivision engages in meetings with federal agencies to have any waterbody in the state designated a wild, scenic, or recreational river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [16 U.S.C. 1271, et seq.] the political subdivision must notify the: a. Director of…

All land in North Dakota shall be within a water resource district.

A certified copy of the order creating a water resource district shall be filed with the county auditor of each county within the district. A like copy of the order shall be filed with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall issue to the state water commission a cert…

1. Any two or more water resource districts may be consolidated into a single district, or existing districts may be adjusted to reflect watershed boundaries, as determined by the department of water resources, by filing with the state water commission a petition signed by a majo…

When a water resource district has been created, and the state water commission has filed notice with the county auditor of a county where the district or a part thereof is situated, a water resource board shall be appointed within ninety days, as provided herein. If the district…

1. When a water resource district has been created, any resident landowner in the district, except a county commissioner, is eligible, subject to the provisions of this section, for appointment to the water resource board. After June 30, 1985, when the term of office of a distric…

When a member of a water resource board has a conflict of interest in a specific issue before the board or is unable to fulfill the duties of a board member because of physical or mental illness, the county commissioners may appoint a person to serve as an alternate to the disqua…

Upon receiving notice of appointment as member of the water resource board, such appointee shall take the oath of office prescribed for civil officers. Such oath shall be filed with the secretary of the board. Notice of the appointment of a member or members of a water resource b…

Every person, stock company, association, corporation, or limited liability company owning or controlling the real estate upon which is located an artesian or flowing well shall provide for each such well a valve or valves capable of controlling the discharge from such well and s…

Every person, stock company, association, corporation, or limited liability company that shall drill an artesian or flowing well shall comply with the rules of the department of water resources regarding such activity.

The provisions of this chapter apply to a wild well, or a well out of control, except if it is determined by the department of water resources the well cannot be repaired for use, no valve may be attached, but every effort must be made by the owner to seal, plug, or cut off the w…

The owner or person in control of an artesian or flowing well, who: 1. Allows it to flow without a valve or other device for checking the flow as required by law, or without proper repair of pipes and valves; 2. Interferes with the well, valve, or other device; 3. Permits the wat…

The department of water resources shall advise the citizens of the state as to the practicability of measures affecting the underground waters of this state by: 1. Counseling, consulting, and assisting the owner to work out the most desirable control and use of the owner's well. …

The provisions of this chapter must be enforced by the department of water resources. The department may issue administrative orders requiring compliance with this chapter. An appeal from a ruling of the department may be taken under the provisions of chapter 28-32.

The legislative assembly of the state of North Dakota hereby approves and ratifies the compact designated as the "Yellowstone River Pact", dated at the city of Billings, state of Montana, on the eighth day of December 1950. Signed by I. A. Acker, Einar H. Dahl, and J. J. Walsh as…

Said compact shall not be binding or obligatory upon any of the high contracting parties thereto unless and until the same shall have been approved by the legislature of each of the said states and by the Congress of the United States. The governor of North Dakota shall give noti…

It is hereby declared that more effective development and utilization of the land and water resources of this state, protection and preservation of the benefits therefrom, opportunity for greater economic security, protection of health, property and enterprise, and the promotion …

The "Garrison Diversion Conservancy District", hereinafter referred to as the "district" consists of that part of the state that is included within the boundaries of the following counties: Barnes, Benson, Bottineau, Burleigh, Cass, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, LaMo…

A director of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District must be nominated and elected in each county in the district. Any person who is a resident and qualified elector of the county who aspires to the office of director of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District shall, bef…

Whenever a vacancy exists on a general election no-party ballot for any directorship of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, the vacancy may be filled by filing with the county auditor at least sixty-four days before the day of the election and not later than four p.m. of…

Each member of the board of directors of the district is entitled to receive as compensation from the district an amount determined by the board of directors not to exceed the amount provided for members of the legislative management under section 54-35-10 per day and must be rei…