Title 46A — WATER MANAGEMENT

[Repealed or reserved.]

Conservation of the state's water resources is hereby declared to be a state function, and the public interest, welfare, convenience, and necessity require the creation of water user districts and the construction of systems of works, as provided in this chapter, for the conserva…

The petition may contain any number of separate instruments, and to each sheet for petitioners' signatures shall be attached a full and correct copy of the petition. Every sheet of every such petition containing signatures shall have upon it and below the signatures an affidavit …

The petition shall be filed with the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources together with a list of the petitioners' names, mailing addresses, and lands owned or entered. The petition shall be accompanied by a map or maps showing the location of lands within the proposed…

Upon receipt of the petition, the department shall determine whether the petition complies with the requirements set forth in §§ 46A-9-4 to 46A-9-11 , inclusive, and dismiss the petition if the requirements have not been complied with, but without prejudice to the right of the pe…

If the department determines the petition complies with requirements of this chapter, a notice shall be published in each county in which lands within the proposed water user district lie, in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the county, once each week for at least two …

Any owner or entryman of land within the proposed water user district who did not sign the petition may file with the Board of Water and Natural Resources a written protest against the qualifications of any signer of the petition, and it shall be the duty of the board to consider…

If the Board of Water and Natural Resources determines that the petitioners have complied with the requirements of this chapter, the board shall make an immediate investigation of the proposed water user district and of its proposed works, systems, or plans and of the engineering…

The Board of Water and Natural Resources, within ninety days from the receipt of the petition, or within ninety days from the time funds become available to defray the cost of the investigation, shall declare that the proposed project is or is not feasible and conforming to publi…

All water user districts, created under the provisions of this chapter, and additions to and deletions from the districts, established or purporting to be established or adjusted before July 1, 1978, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and having a de facto existence of at…

Immediately upon the filing of said certificate in the Office of the Secretary of State and a certified copy thereof in the office of each such county auditor, the members of the board of directors named in the petition shall qualify as provided for in this chapter and immediatel…

The procedure for extending a water user district by including additional territory shall be as provided by §§ 46A-9-20 to 46A-9-23 , inclusive. Source: SL 1943, ch 310 ; SDC Supp 1960, § 61.1304 (2); SDCL, § 46-16-18.

Any surplus which may remain in any construction fund after providing for the payment of the cost of the works shall be added to and become a part of the appropriate debt service fund provided for in §

A water user district may be extended by including additional territory by filing in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources a petition in writing, verified by the circulator of the petition, addressed to the department, signed by at least twenty-five percent of the l…

The petition shall be filed with the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, together with a list of the petitioners' names, mailing addresses, and lands owned or entered. The petition shall be accompanied by a map or maps showing the location of the lands to be included…

A notice shall be published in each county in which the lands to be included lie, in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the county, once each week for at least two successive weeks. The last date of publication shall be at least thirty days prior to the Board of Water an…

Upon receipt of the petition the Board of Water and Natural Resources shall act upon the petition in the same manner as required upon an original petition to create a water user district, as set forth in §§ 46A-9-12 to 46A-9-16 , inclusive, and §

If the board of directors of a water user district finds that there are lands within the district not utilizing the services of the district and that it is not feasible or necessary to retain those lands within the district, the board shall adopt a resolution stating its findings…

Following the setting of a hearing date by the Board of Water and Natural Resources under the provisions of § 46A-9-23.1 , the board of directors of a water user district shall publish a copy of the resolution and a notice of the time and place when the resolution shall be consid…

After the qualification of the original board, members to succeed those in the three groups provided for in § 46A-9-8 , respectively, and to fill unexpired terms, shall be nominated and elected and shall take office, subject to the provisions of this chapter. Prior to May first o…

The board of directors of the water user district shall fix the hour and place, within the boundaries of the district, of each election and shall preside at the election. If the district is divided into election divisions, the board of directors in its discretion may fix a place …

Every owner of land and entryman within the district, and every person or corporation which is a party to a contract with the district for the purchase of water, for the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater, or other services to be furnished by the district, may cast …

The board of directors, at least twenty days before the date of election, shall mail to each person or corporation entitled to vote at the election, at the person's or corporation's last known place of residence or business, a notice stating the time, place, and purpose of the el…

At the time and place of the election, the presiding directors shall provide for registration of those present and entitled to vote, shall determine the number of votes to which each is entitled and shall prescribe the manner of casting ballots and canvassing votes. If election d…

The candidate for director required to fill an existing vacancy or to succeed an outgoing director who receives the highest number of votes cast for such office shall be declared elected. Source: SL 1939, ch 291 , § 5; SDC Supp 1960, § 61.1305 (2); SDCL, § 46-16-28.

A water user district may be organized as provided in this chapter, and may sue and be sued in its corporate name. The procedure for creating and incorporating a district under the provisions of this chapter shall be as provided by §§ 46A-9-4 to 46A-9-18 , inclusive. Source: SL 1…

No person is qualified to hold office as a member of the board of directors of any water user district unless the person is a landowner or entryman of the district. Source: SL 1939, ch 291 , § 6; SDC Supp 1960, § 61.1306; SDCL § 46-16-29; SL 2011, ch 165 , § 476.

Members of the board of directors may be removed from office for the same reasons and in the same manner as provided in §§ 3-17-6 to 3-17-11 , inclusive, for the removal of county and other local officers. Source: SL 1939, ch 291 , § 5; SDC Supp 1960, § 61.1305 (1); SDCL, §

Vacancies on the board of directors by reason of death, disability, failure to hold land in the water user district, or in the election division if election divisions are provided for, or otherwise shall be declared to exist and shall be filled by the board of directors, and the …

Each water user district board of directors shall establish amounts to reimburse board members for expenses for lodging, meals, and mileage and to provide compensation for each day of actual service for traveling to, attending, and returning from meetings, hearings, or investigat…

The board of directors shall elect the officers of the water user district who shall be a president, a vice - president, a secretary, and a treasurer, and the board shall appoint such executive committee and other officers, agents, and employees as shall be deemed necessary in tr…

The treasurer shall furnish and maintain a corporate surety bond in such amounts and with such sureties as the directors may specify and conditioned on faithful performance of the treasurer's duties. The bond, as thus approved, shall be filed with the secretary of state, and the …

The corporate powers of the water user district shall be vested in and exercised by the board of directors of the district. Source: SL 1939, ch 291 , § 6; SDC Supp 1960, § 61.1306; SDCL, § 46-16-36.

The board of directors may by resolution adopt bylaws and procedures, not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter, for the conduct of the business and affairs of the water user district. The board of directors shall cause to be kept accurate minutes of its meetings and a…

A water user district may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any pending or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, …

A water user district organized under the provisions of this chapter has the powers provided by §§ 46A-9-40 , 46A-9-41 , and §§ 46A-9-43 to 46A-9-45 , inclusive, and may own, have, or exercise the rights, privileges, and franchises provided by those sections. Source: SL 1939, ch …

A water user district may be organized under the provisions of this chapter by filing in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources a petition in compliance with the requirements set forth in this section, and the approval of the petition by the Board of Water and Natura…

The water user district has all the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes. The district may acquire by purchase, gift, condemnation, or other lawful means and may hold any real or personal property reasonably necessary for the conduct of its business, or may lease suc…

The water user district may own, construct, reconstruct, improve, purchase, condemn, lease, receive by gift, or otherwise acquire, hold, extend, manage, use, or operate any works and any kind of property, personal or real, necessary, useful, or incident to such acquisition, exten…

Any nonprofit corporation, cooperative, or association engaged in the treatment, distribution, or sale of water or the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater to a rural area may, by majority vote of the membership voting in an election on the question, transfer all of i…

In connection with the powers provided by §§ 46A-9-40 and 46A-9-41 , the water user district may enter into any contract, lease, agreement, or arrangement with any state, county, municipality, district, governmental or public corporation or association, or with any person, firm, …

The district may exercise any of the powers enumerated in §§ 46A-9-41 and 46A-9-43 either within or beyond or partly within and partly beyond the boundaries of the district and of the State of South Dakota, unless prohibited by the law of the area or state concerned or of the Uni…

Such water user district shall have the right to appropriate the waters of the state in the same manner as other appropriators under the laws of this state; provided, that such district shall not, in the exercise of the powers conferred by this chapter, interfere with, injure, or…

In addition to any other rights and powers conferred upon any water user district organized under the provisions of this chapter, the district may exercise the power of eminent domain for the purposes and after the manner provided for in chapter 21-35 , after declaring by resolut…

No portion of any plant or system that is operated by a water user district for the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater, including sanitary sewers and sewage and sewage treatment plants and systems, may be located within a zone that extends ten miles outward from the…

The district has no power of taxation, or of levying assessments for special benefits. No governmental authority may levy or collect taxes or assessments for the purpose of paying, in whole or in part, any indebtedness or obligation of or incurred by the district as such or upon …

No person, irrigation district, municipality, county, or other governmental subdivision, irrigation company, or other public or private corporation or association is liable for the payment of any rent or charge for water storage; water supply; for the collection, treatment, or di…

Any water user district organized under this chapter may exercise any power conferred by this chapter for the purpose of obtaining grants or loans or both from any federal agency pursuant to or by virtue of any acts of Congress independently or in conjunction with any other power…

The lands proposed to be included within a water user district need not consist of contiguous parcels. A district may consist of lands wholly within or wholly outside the limits of municipalities or of lands partly within and partly outside such limits; and a district may include…

The water user district may purchase and acquire lands, water rights, rights-of-way, and real and personal properties of every nature in cooperation with the United States under such conditions as the board deems advisable. The district may convey such rights and property under c…