Title 41, Water

Contracts for use of water; power of board to sell or lease water; securing of payments generally. The board may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the use of water by term contracts or by contracts for the perpetual use of such water to persons, public corporations, mutual ditc…

Contracts for use of water; means of owners meeting annual installment payments. (a) To meet the annual installments as provided in contracts for the use of water: (i) A water users' association may bind itself to levy an annual assessment on the use of water and to secure same b…

Surplus funds. Whenever a contract of indebtedness has been created by the district, it shall be lawful for the board to make the annual levy of taxes and special assessments in such amount as will create a surplus of funds to meet the annual installments of indebtedness and/or t…

Use and distribution of water generally. (a) The board shall have the following powers concerning the management, control, delivery, use and distribution of water by the district, to wit: (i) To make and enforce all reasonable rules and regulations for the management, control, de…

Allotment of water to landowner under disability. Where the landowner in a water conservancy district, organized under this act is under disability by reason of infancy, insanity or otherwise, or lands are held under administration, executorship, guardianship, conservatorship, tr…

District boundary changes. The boundaries of any district organized under the provision of this act may be changed in the manner herein prescribed, but the change of boundaries of the district shall not impair or affect its organization or its rights in or to property, or any of …

Petition for exclusion of lands. The owner or owners in fee of any lands constituting a portion of the district may file with the board a petition praying that such lands be excluded and taken from said district. Petitions shall describe the lands which the petitioners desire to …

Bonds; authority of board to issue; purpose; terms; execution; tax exemptions. To pay for construction, operation and maintenance of the works and expenses preliminary and incidental thereto, the board is hereby authorized to enter into contract with the United States or an agenc…

Bonds; election prior to issuance generally. Whenever the board incorporated under this act shall by resolution adopted by a majority of the said board, determine that the interests of said district and the public interest or necessity demand the acquisition, construction or comp…

Bonds; election prior to issuance; publication of resolution. The resolution provided in W.S. 41-3-754 shall be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks, the last publication of which shall be at least ten (10) days prior to the date set for said election, in a newspap…

Bonds; election prior to issuance; conduct of election; canvassing of returns; declaration of results. The respective election boards shall conduct the election in their respective precincts in the manner prescribed by law for the holding of general elections, and shall make thei…

Bonds; election prior to issuance; approval. In the event that it shall appear from said returns that a majority of said qualified electors of the district who shall have voted on any proposition submitted hereunder at such election voted in favor of such proposition, the distric…

Judicial examination and determination of board's powers. The board may, in its discretion, at any time file a petition in the court, praying a judicial examination and determination of any power conferred hereby or by any amendment hereto or of any tax or assessment levied or of…

Methods of levying and collecting; classifications generally. (a) In addition to the other means of providing revenue for such districts as herein provided, the board shall have power and authority to levy and collect taxes and special assessments for maintaining and operating su…

Methods of levying and collecting; class A. To levy and collect taxes under class A as provided in W.S. 41- 3-770, the board shall, in each year, determine the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxation, taking into consideration other sources of revenue of the district, …

Methods of levying and collecting; class B. (a) To levy and collect special assessments under class B as provided in W.S. 41-3-770, the board shall make an allotment of water to each petitioning municipality in the district in the manner as hereinafter provided, in such quantity …

Methods of levying and collecting; class C. (a) To levy and collect special assessments upon lands under class C as provided in W.S. 41-3-770, the board shall make an allotment of water to each of the petitioning irrigation districts within the district in the manner as hereinaft…

Method of levying and collecting; class D. (a) To levy and collect special assessments upon lands under class D as provided in W.S. 41-3-770, the board shall make an allotment of water to petitioning owners of lands in the district, upon which water can be beneficially used in th…

Considerations affecting annual levies and assessments; deficiencies; additional assessments. The board in making the annual assessments and levies as herein provided, shall take into account the maturing indebtedness for the ensuing year as provided in its contracts and/or the m…

Objections to assessments. (a) Prior to the third Monday in July of each year in which assessments are made, the board shall appoint a time and place or places where it will meet within the district for the purposes of hearing objections to assessments and prior notice of such he…

Duties of city and county taxing officials. It shall be the duty of the officer or body having authority to levy taxes within each county, city and county, or town, to levy the taxes and special assessments as provided in this act and it shall be the duty of all county, or city a…

Exemptions. All property of whatever kind and nature owned by the state and by towns, cities, school districts, drainage districts, irrigation districts, park districts, water districts, or any other governmental agency or agencies within the said district, shall be exempt from a…

Nonpayment. If the taxes and/or assessments levied are not paid as herein provided, then the real property shall be sold at the regular tax sale for the payment of such taxes and assessments, interest and penalties, in the manner provided by the statutes of the state of Wyoming f…

Petition for establishment; notice of election; qualifications of voters; conduct of election. A flood control district may be established under the procedures for petitioning, hearing and election of special districts, and subsequent elections shall be held, as set forth in the …

Election of board of directors; number; term; quorum; bond; powers and duties generally; election of officers. (a) If the formation of the district is approved the board of county commissioners shall enter a finding to that effect upon its records after which the district shall b…

Special tax authorized; power of board to enter into cooperative agreements; authority to make rules and hire employees. (a) The board of county commissioners of the county wherein each district is situated shall, at the time of the annual levy of general taxes, levy an additiona…

Definitions. (a) As used in this act, unless the context plainly otherwise requires: (i) "Person" means a natural person, partnership, association, corporation, municipality, irrigation district, the state of Wyoming, any agency or political subdivision thereof, and the United St…

Spring waters; perfection of right to use; limitation. All springs and spring waters where the yield does not exceed twenty-five (25) gallons per minute and where the use is for domestic or stock purposes only, shall be considered as groundwater. Perfection of the right to use sp…

By-product water; definition. By-product water is water which has not been put to prior beneficial use, and which is a by-product of some nonwater-related economic activity and has been developed only as a result of such activity. By-product water includes, but is not limited to,…

By-product water; appropriation; conditions and limitation. (a) Any person intending to appropriate by-product water for beneficial use shall file an application with the state engineer on the forms and in the manner prescribed for groundwater applications. By-product water shall…

Application; generally; registration of vested rights; permit to construct well; registration of formerly exempted wells. Nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to interfere with the right of any person to use water from any existing well where such water is economical…

Application; rights subject to preferences; rights of municipal corporations. Rights to underground water shall be subject to the same preferences as provided by law for surface waters, and rights not preferred may be condemned and changed to a preferred use in the manner provide…

Application; preferred right of appropriations for stock or domestic use. Appropriations of underground water for stock or domestic use, the latter being defined as household use and the watering of lawns and gardens for noncommercial family use where the area to be irrigated doe…

Division advisory committee; appointment; removal; duties; expense allowances. (a) In each of the water divisions of the state, as defined in W.S. 41-3-501, there shall be established a division advisory committee on underground water. Each committee shall consist of three (3) pe…

State engineer; powers generally. (a) In the administration and enforcement of this act and in the effectuation of the policy of the state to conserve its underground water resources, the state engineer is authorized and empowered on advice and consent of the board of control: (i…

State engineer; power to determine area and boundaries of districts. The state engineer is authorized and directed to determine the area and boundaries of districts overlying the various aquifers yielding underground waters in this state and to assign to each district a distincti…

Authority to order interfering appropriator to cease withdrawals of water; hearing complaints by appropriators. (a) Whenever a well withdrawing water for beneficial purposes shall interfere unreasonably with an adequate well developed solely for domestic or stock uses as defined …

Control areas; board member districts; designation; redesignation; duty of state engineer; hearings. (a) "Control area" means any underground water district or subdistrict that has been so designated by the board of control. The board of control may designate a control area for t…

Control areas; election of control area advisory board; mileage and expense allowances. (a) When an underground water district or subdistrict is declared to be a control area, when the board of control geographically redesignates a control area or when the board of control approv…

Adjudication of waters within control area. (a) After the boundaries of any control area have been determined by the board, the appropriate superintendent shall proceed with the adjudication of unadjudicated wells within the control area. After completing the adjudication, the su…

Control areas; hearing to determine adequacy of water for all appropriators; corrective controls generally; agreements in lieu of controls. (a) After designation of an area as a control area by the board, the state engineer may temporarily adopt any of the corrective controls pro…

Priority of rights when 1 source of supply. Where underground waters in different aquifers are so interconnected as to constitute in fact one source of supply, or where underground waters and the waters of surface streams are so interconnected as to constitute in fact one source …

Change of location of well without loss of priority; appeal from action of state board of control or state engineer. (a) An appropriator of underground water may change the location of his well to a point within the same aquifer in the vicinity of the original location, without l…

Appeals. Any person aggrieved by an order of the board or of the state engineer concerning underground water, or by their or his failure to act, may appeal in the manner provided by W.S. 41-4-517, and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

Prohibited acts; penalty for violation. Any person who withdraws underground water or who fails to stop or reduce the flow of underground water in violation of any order of the state engineer made pursuant to this act, or any person who does not have a permit, certificate or vest…

Application; who required to file; filing; contents; use of water from existing well; statement of claim. (a) Any person who intends to acquire the right to beneficial use of any underground water in the state of Wyoming, shall, before commencing construction of any well or other…