Title 46A — WATER MANAGEMENT

All provisions of law now applicable to irrigation districts, privately owned irrigation corporations, or ditch companies, regarding the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the use and occupation of state and other public lands and highways, the appropriation, or other acqui…

Any water user district contract for the construction, alteration, extension, or improvement of any works, or any part or section thereof, or any building, for the use of the district, or for the purchase of any materials, machinery, or apparatus therefor is governed by chapters …

Before publication of any advertisement pursuant to chapter 5-18A , plans and specifications for the proposed construction work or materials shall be prepared and filed at the principal office or place of business of the water user district. The advertisement shall be published a…

Such contract shall provide that wherever possible, workmen who are citizens of South Dakota shall be employed by the contractor. All provisions of chapter 5-21 with reference to contractors' bonds required under such statutes, shall be applicable and effective as to any contract…

If all or a portion of the cost of the proposed works is to be met by grant of labor or a grant-in-aid from a federal or state agency, does not require the use of any state or federal funds in the proposed works, or under other contract with a federal or state agency, and the rul…

Any district organized pursuant to this chapter may borrow money and incur indebtedness for any corporate use or purpose authorized in this chapter and to the extent applicable pursuant to chapter 9-40 , provided the indebtedness, liability, or obligation of the district for the …

Any such water user district may pledge and put up as collateral security for a loan any district obligations. Any district issuing district obligations under the provisions of this chapter may pledge all or any part of the revenues which the district may derive from the sale, co…

Such resolution or agreement may further provide for the refunding of any such water user district obligation through the issuance of other district obligations, entitled to rights and priorities similar in all respects to those held by the district obligations that are refunded …

Any such resolution or agreement may provide that all or any part of the revenues of the water user district shall be paid into a special fund and may set forth all the terms and conditions on which such special fund is to be collected, held, and disposed of, whether partly or wh…

Nothing in this chapter prevents the organization of a water user district under this chapter within, or partly within, the territorial boundaries of another district organized under this chapter, or of an irrigation district organized under the provisions of chapter 46A-4 , if t…

The directors of any water user district organized under the provisions of this chapter may enter into agreements with the holders of any such district obligations as to the maximum or minimum amounts that the district may charge and collect for water sold by the district or for …

The board of directors, subject to the provisions of this chapter, may fix and establish the prices, rates, and charges at which any resources and facilities made available under the provisions of this chapter shall be sold and disposed of. The board may enter into any contracts …

Every contract made by the board of directors for the sale, conveyance, and distribution of water, use of water, water storage, or for the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater, or other service, or for the sale of any property or facilities, shall provide that in the …

The board of directors shall create separate funds, one fund to be known as the construction fund, another fund to be known as the water fund, another fund to be known as the debt service fund, and, if the district provides services for the collection, treatment, or disposal of w…

The proceeds of the sale of the bonds and other evidences of indebtedness of each series issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be placed to the credit of the appropriate construction fund, which fund shall at all times be kept segregated and set apart from all other f…

All income or profit and revenue of the works and all moneys received from the sale, conveyance, distribution, or disposal of water, use of water, or water storage; from the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater; and from the operation, lease sale, or other disposition…

The board of directors shall provide in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of each series of bonds, warrants, notes, debentures, or other evidences of indebtedness or in the trust indenture securing the same, for paying into the appropriate debt service fund at stated inter…

All moneys collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited with the water user district treasurer in any depository designated and approved by the board of directors of the water user district at a regular meeting and from which all valid claims against the district shall b…

The fiscal year of the water user district shall coincide with the calendar year. The board of directors, at the close of each year's business, shall cause an audit of the books, records, and financial affairs of the district to be made by an experienced public accountant, copies…

No irrigation or other water supply works, drainage works, or systems or facilities for the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater owned by the district may be sold, alienated, or mortgaged by the district, except under the circumstances described by §§ 46A-9-70 to 46A-…

Directors may be elected either at large, or from election divisions, without regard to whether municipality areas are included within the water user district. If the petition states that the directors shall be elected from election divisions, the petition shall describe the boun…

If, in the judgment of the board of directors, it is in the best interest of the water user district to sell any portion of the district works not needed for the performance of any outstanding contract, and not mortgaged or hypothecated as provided for in § 46A-9-71 , the board o…

If, in order to borrow money from the federal government or from any of its agencies, or from the State of South Dakota or from any other public or private provider of financing, it becomes necessary that the water user district mortgage or otherwise hypothecate any of its proper…

If any water user district created under this chapter shall execute and deliver a mortgage or trust deed to secure the payment of any moneys borrowed by it for the purposes herein authorized, it may be provided in such mortgage or trust deed that the same may be foreclosed upon d…

Any water user district organized under this chapter may be dissolved by authorization of a majority vote of the voters, qualified to vote for district directors, at a special election called by the board of directors for that purpose. Notice of the election shall be mailed to ea…

Dissolution of the water user district shall be completed upon resolution of the board of directors canvassing the vote and declaring that a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question have voted in favor of dissolution. A verified copy of the resolution shall be file…

In case of such dissolution, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall cancel all applications for appropriation of water, and all rights of the water user district therein and thereunder shall thereupon cease and determine. Source: SL 1939, ch 291 , § 19; SDC Sup…

Nothing in this chapter deprives any municipality within the State of South Dakota, located either wholly or partially within or outside any water user district, of the exercise of any rights with which it may be invested by law to construct, acquire, operate, maintain, or dispos…

Nothing in this chapter repeals, limits, or in any way affects the provisions of chapters 46A-4 to 46A-7 , inclusive, relating to the organization and operation of irrigation districts. Nothing in this chapter limits in any way the powers and functions of irrigation districts org…

A water user district organized under this chapter which is not a participating unit of the South Dakota Retirement System on January 1, 1983, may elect to participate in the retirement system sponsored by the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems. Source: SL 1983, ch 3…

The board of directors of any water user district may annually appoint a water master for the district subject to approval by the Water Management Board. Once approved, the board of directors may contract with the water master with regard to the terms and conditions of his employ…

In the petition, if directors are to be elected at large, the directors named shall be divided as nearly as possible into three equal groups, to be designated Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3, respectively. In either case, the members of Group 1 shall hold office until their success…

The water master shall: (1) Enforce procedures for distribution of water by court decree; (2) Enforce priorities and rights pertaining to the use of water as established by statute or case law; (3) Administer the distribution of water obtained through any contract pursuant to § 4…

The board of directors may remove the water master for cause. The Water Management Board may withdraw approval of a water master and request the board of directors to remove any water master for cause. Source: SL 1990, ch 363 , § 3.

Any person aggrieved by any act or omission of any water master may appeal to the board of directors of the water user district, to the Water Management Board or to the circuit court in the county wherein the dispute arose. Source: SL 1990, ch 363 , § 4.

The provisions of this chapter do not abrogate or limit the rights, powers, duties, and functions of the State Water Management Board, but are supplementary thereto. Source: SL 1990, ch 363 , § 5.

A water user district may enroll in any authorized group health insurance plan, group dental insurance plan, or both, for the members of the board of directors of the district. The plan may provide for group health and dental insurance against the financial cost of hospital, surg…

The board may authorize a director, or an employee of the water user district whose responsibilities include approving, awarding, or administering a contract on behalf of the district, to be a party to a contract or derive a direct benefit from a contract with the district, if: (…

For purposes of § 46A-9-85 , a direct benefit from a contract is derived if the director or employee, the spouse of the director or employee, or any other person with whom the director or employee lives and commingles assets: (1) Has more than a five percent ownership interest in…

The petition shall be signed by twenty-five percent of the landowners or entrymen within the area constituting the proposed water user district, or by their duly authorized representatives. However, if the proposed district includes any portion of the area within a municipality, …

However, if land is sold under a contract for deed, which is of record in the office of the register of deeds or director of equalization, both the vendor and vendee shall be treated as landowners; (4) "Project," any one of the works defined in this section, or any combination of…