Title 61, Waters

All waters within the limits of the state from the following sources of water supply belong to the public and are subject to appropriation for beneficial use and the right to the use of these waters for such use must be acquired pursuant to chapter 61-04: 1. Waters on the surface…

The legislative assembly finds that the use of ground water for irrigation purposes is vitally important to the economic future of this state. The reliance on processing plants for the consistent quality resulting from irrigation is an important factor in preserving this state's …

In all cases of claims to the use of water initiated prior to March 1, 1905, the right relates back to the initiation of the claim, upon the diligent prosecution to completion of the necessary surveys and construction for the application of the water to a beneficial use. Any clai…

The United States, or any person, corporation, limited liability company, or association may exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire for a public use any property or rights existing when found necessary for the application of water to beneficial uses, including the right …

Water turned into any natural or artificial watercourse by any party entitled to the use of the water may be reclaimed below and diverted from the watercourse by the party, subject to existing rights, due allowance for losses being made, as determined by the department of water r…

1. A watercourse entitled to the protection of the law is constituted if there is a sufficient natural and accustomed flow of water to form and maintain a distinct and a defined channel. The supply of water is not required to be continuous or from a perennial living source. The c…

If any person illegally obstructs any ditch, drain, or watercourse, or diverts the water therein from its natural or artificial course, the person is liable to the party suffering injury from the obstruction or diversion for the full amount of the damage done, and, in addition, i…

Every person who in any manner obstructs the free navigation of any navigable watercourse within this state is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Every person who willfully destroys or tampers with any dam or structure erected to retain water or any embankment necessary for the support thereof, or who willfully makes or causes to be made, any aperture in such dam or embankment, with intent to destroy the same, is guilty of…

All persons cutting ice in or upon any waters within the boundaries of this state, for the purpose of removing such ice for sale or commercial use, shall surround the cuttings and openings made with fences or bushes or other guards sufficient to warn all persons of such cuttings …

Any person, having logs or lumber in any stream navigable for watercraft in this state, may boom such logs or lumber along the shore, and shall secure the boom by means of piles driven in the stream, or by chains, ropes, timber, or traverse poles made fast at points along the sho…

A right of way is granted to any duly incorporated water users' association by and with the consent of the board of university and school lands, to construct over and across any state, school, and institution lands, flumes, ditches, and canals for irrigation purposes and to const…

As between vendor and vendee, all special assessments upon real property levied pursuant to the provisions of this title shall become and be a lien upon the real property upon which the same are assessed, from and after the first day of January next after such assessments shall h…

If there are no delinquent general taxes against any parcel of real estate and it is foreclosed for special assessments under this title, the notice of foreclosure of tax lien shall contain a statement to the effect that the foreclosure is for special assessments. If the foreclos…

In order to investigate or remove obstructions from the channel or bed of any watercourse and thus prevent ice from gorging therein and to prevent flooding or pollution of such watercourse, the state water commission, any water resource district, any municipality, any board of co…

That body of water which enters the state in or adjacent to that township described as township one hundred sixty-four, north, range eighty-seven, west, in the county of Renville, and proceeds in a generally southerly course through the city of Minot, thence in a generally easter…

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation of the department of water resources for which another penalty is not specifically provided is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

In view of legislative findings and determination of the ever-increasing demand and anticipated future need for water in North Dakota for every beneficial purpose and use, it is hereby declared to be the water resources policy of the state that: 1. The public health, safety, and …

The legislative assembly finds that many areas and localities in eastern North Dakota do not enjoy safe drinking water. It is also found that other areas and localities in eastern North Dakota do not have sufficient quantities of water to ensure a dependable, long-term water supp…

The legislative assembly will support to the extent funds are available from the water development trust fund the comprehensive statewide water development program developed pursuant to section 2 of chapter 587 of the 1995 Session Laws and to the state water management plan estab…

The water projects stabilization fund is a special fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of all money transferred to the fund and all interest and earnings upon moneys in the fund. Moneys in the fund may be used for defraying planning and construction expenses of water-re…

In order to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare and to protect this state's ground water supplies, and except for purposes related to chapters 38-08 and 38-08.1, no well that has been drilled for the purpose of the exploration or production of oil or gas may be conve…

It is hereby declared that the general welfare and the protection of the lives, health, property, and the rights of all the people of this state require that the conservation, management, development, and control of waters in this state, public or private, navigable or non-naviga…

The legislative assembly finds that there is a critical need to develop a comprehensive statewide water development program. The state water commission shall develop and implement a comprehensive statewide water development program. The commission shall design the program to serv…

The state water commission shall develop policies, including cost-sharing guidelines, which further the development of water retention projects for flood control. The commission shall provide a report regarding the policies to the sixty-second legislative assembly.

1. Biennially, the commission shall develop and maintain a comprehensive water development plan organized on a river basin perspective, including an inventory of future water projects for budgeting and planning purposes. 2. As part of the commission's planning process, to facilit…

The state water commission shall review, gather stakeholder input on, and rewrite as necessary the commission's "Cost-share Policy, Procedure and General Requirements" and "Project Prioritization Guidance" documents. The commission's cost-share policy: 1. Must provide a water sup…

Notwithstanding section 61-02-01.3, between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2027, the state water commission or the department of water resources may not conduct an economic analysis for an assessment drain project within the state.

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Commission" means the state water commission. 2. "Cost of works" includes: a. The cost of construction, the cost of all lands, property rights, water rights, easements, and franchises acquired which are…

In case any water rights shall be acquired or exercised by the commission in connection with two or more works and projects, the commission, by resolution, shall apportion or allocate to each of such works or projects such part of such water rights as it may determine, and upon a…

The state water commission consists of the governor, agriculture commissioner, and eight other members appointed by the governor who shall take into account reasonable geographic considerations in making the appointments with the intent of having each of the eight major drainage …

1. A member of the commission who has a direct or indirect personal or pecuniary interest in a matter before the commission must disclose that fact to the commission and may not participate in or vote on that particular matter. 2. Sections 12.1-13-02, 12.1-13-03, and 48-01.2-08 d…

The governor is the chairman of the commission. The governor shall designate a vice chairman from the members of the commission. The director of the department of water resources is the secretary of the commission.

The commission shall maintain its principal office in the city of Bismarck and may maintain such branch offices in the state as it may determine.

A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum, and the affirmative or negative vote of six members is necessary to bind the commission except for adjournment.

The commission shall hold at least one meeting every two months at places as it, by resolution, may provide. The chairman, or in the chairman's absence or disability, the vice chairman of the commission, may issue a call for any meeting at any time. The governor or governor's app…

The commission shall be a state agency with all of the powers and authority possessed by such a state agency in the performance of its duties. The commission may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and contract and be contracted with. The commission in the exercise of all it…

The commission shall have a seal bearing its name. Such seal shall be affixed to such records and other instruments as the commission may direct, and all courts shall take judicial notice thereof.

The commission may adopt and enact all rules, regulations, resolutions, and bylaws deemed suitable and necessary in the conduct of its business and the performance of its duties. It shall keep accurate minutes and records of all its acts which at all reasonable times shall be ope…

Each appointive member of the commission is entitled to receive compensation per day in the amount provided for members of the legislative management under section 54-35-10 and must be reimbursed for expenses in the amounts provided in sections 44-08-04 and 54-06-09 while attendi…

The commission may hire and employ all necessary aid, help, and assistants, including members of all the professions, for the efficient performance of its powers and duties.

The commission is authorized: 1. To investigate, plan, regulate, undertake, construct, establish, maintain, control, operate, and supervise all works, dams, and projects, public and private, which in the commission's judgment may be necessary or advisable: a. To control the low-w…

The commission may, when it deems such action to be in the best interests of the state, for good and valuable consideration, release easements granted to the state for the construction, operation, and maintenance of dams, along with access thereto, if such dams have not been cons…

The director of the department of water resources, or the director's authorized designee, may execute contracts approved by the commission.

An agreement for funding which is approved by the commission to fund a water project under this chapter must require a progress report to the commission at least every four years if the term of the project exceeds four years. If a progress report is not timely received or, if aft…

1. The state water commission shall report quarterly to a legislative committee designated by the legislative management: a. Each project the state water commission has designated as a carryover project that has had a cost-share agreement in place for at least four years; b. The …

In planning and constructing irrigation projects, it shall be the policy of the commission to give preference to the individual farmer or groups of farmers or irrigation districts who intend to farm the land themselves.

The commission shall keep full and complete accounts and records of all matters and things relating to works and projects undertaken, established, and maintained by the commission and shall prepare annual balance sheets, income, and profit and loss statements, showing the financi…

Upon application by any landowner, holder of any easement, or holder of any lease of five or more years' duration, or of any group or association of such landowners, easement holders, or leaseholders for an irrigation project, the commission shall make such preliminary engineerin…

In any irrigation project undertaken by the commission serving a single individual, or a group of individuals owning irrigable lands, the works of the commission may include preparation of the land for irrigation.