Title 41 — Title 41 — Water

Diverting from owner prohibited. It shall be unlawful for anyone not the owner thereof to divert and take from the natural channel of any interstate stream designated by the certificate required in W.S. 41-3-206 flowing within the state of Wyoming, any foreign water or in any man…

generally. Change of point of diversion; power to petition Any person, association or corporation having heretofore acquired a right from an adjoining state to the beneficial use of the water of any stream, entering the state of Wyoming and where the point of diversion of the app…

petition. Change of point of diversion; contents of All petitions for such change of point of diversion shall be made to the state board of control setting forth the acreage in each legal subdivision of land irrigated, with the total acreage, together with a map, showing the loca…

Change of point of diversion; endorsement and recording of petition. Upon receipt of the petition by the board of control, it shall be the duty of the president of said board to make an endorsement thereon of the date of its receipt, and to properly record receipt of the petition…

Change of point of diversion; hearing. It shall be the duty of the board of control at its next regular meeting following the receipt of such petition to examine same and ascertain if it sets forth all the facts required by W.S. 41-3-210, and the validity of the water right grant…

Change of point of diversion; rights of applicant upon approval; certificate of appropriation. The approval of the petition shall grant to the applicant the same right in all respects as existed under the laws of the adjoining state as to land to be irrigated, amount of water, an…

Change of point of diversion; fees and costs. The applicant shall pay the statutory fee for a stenographer to take the testimony at each hearing, and provide for a stenographic record of the proceedings, and in addition the administrative costs of the hearing official and the nec…

Change of point of diversion; appeal from adverse decision. Any applicant or person interested, feeling himself aggrieved by the decision of the board of control may appeal from said decision to the district court in the county in which said point of diversion is proposed to be l…

Application for reservoir construction permit; contents; procedure. (a) Any person, corporation, association, or organization, of any nature whatsoever, hereafter intending to store or impound, for beneficial uses, any of the unappropriated waters of the state of Wyoming, shall, …

Application for construction permit; conditions; secondary permit; certificate of appropriation. All applications under this article shall be subject to the provisions of W.S. 41-4-502 through 41-4-510, 41-4-517 and 41-3-615, which set forth the duties and authority of the state …

Use of stored water. The use of water stored under the provisions of this chapter may be acquired under such terms as shall be agreed upon by and between the parties in interest. Lands entitled to the use of water in any reservoir may use the water stored therein, and to which th…

Use of bed of stream. Whenever the owner, manager or lessee of a reservoir, constructed under the provisions of this act, shall desire the use of the bed of the stream, or other water course, for the purpose of carrying stored or impounded water from the reservoir to the consumer…

Direct flow storage. The holder or owner of an adjudicated water right to the direct use of the natural unstored flow of any surface stream of the state may store such direct flow so long as no other Wyoming appropriator or user is injured or affected thereby. Prior to the commen…

Instream stock use. In the administration of water rights on any stream and in the consideration of any applications for permits, the state engineer may require that water be provided to meet reasonable demands for instream stock use.

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; definitions. (a) As used in this act unless the context otherwise requires: (i) "Alterations" or "repairs" means only such alterations or repairs as may directly affect the safety of the dam or diversion system, as determined b…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; plans and specifications; duties of state engineer. (a) Plans and specifications of any proposed construction, enlargement, major repair, alteration or removal of a dam or diversion system shall be prepared by or under the dire…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; inspections performed and reports submitted to state engineer by professional engineer. (a) A registered professional engineer licensed to practice in the state of Wyoming shall be in charge of and responsible for the construct…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; inspections by state engineer or assistant engineer; cost. (a) If the state engineer believes that inspections carried out under W.S. 41-3-309 are inadequate or that additional inspections are necessary, the state engineer may …

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; periodic inspections. (a) Any dam subject to the terms of this act shall be inspected at least once every ten (10) years or as often as deemed necessary based on the hazards of the dam to insure the continued protection of publ…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; inspections at other than regular times; cost; unsafe structures. (a) The state engineer may, or upon written request from any person or persons residing on or owning land near any dam, reservoir or diversion system shall, orde…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; outlets; maintenance; draining by breaching. (a) All dams and reservoirs hereafter constructed, with or without a controlled inlet, shall contain an outlet controlled by a headgate or other control works. The headgate or contro…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; emergency repairs or breaching. (a) In case of an emergency where the state engineer or his authorized representative declares that repairs or breaching of a dam or diversion system are immediately necessary to safeguard life a…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; enforcement of provisions. For any reservoir the state engineer may enforce any sections of this act in such manner and by such means as may be necessary to insure the safety of the public and protection of property.

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; actions brought against state, state engineer or employees prohibited. (a) No action shall be brought against the state or the state engineer or any of his agents or employees for the recovery of damages caused by the partial o…

Alterations or repairs of dams or diversion systems; liability of owners. Nothing in this act shall be construed to relieve an owner or owners of any reservoir, dam or diversion system of any legal duties, obligations or liabilities incident to their ownership or operation of or …

Penalties, cancellation of permit, for failure to comply with W.S. 41-3-308 through 41-3-314. Failure to comply with the provisions of W.S. 41-3-308 through 41-3-314 shall subject the permit to cancellation at any time pursuant to W.S. 41-3-616(c). Failure to comply with any vali…

rights. Owners of ditches and reservoirs; general Each owner of a share or shares of the capital stock in an incorporated ditch company existing for the purpose of distributing water through such company's ditch to the owners of such stock, shall have the right to carry, convey a…

Owners of ditches and reservoirs; sale or lease of impounded water. Except as otherwise provided by deed or other written instruments of the owner or owners of the right to impound water in any reservoir, such reservoir owner or owners shall, after the completion of the works in …

Owners of ditches and reservoirs; priority of right to store or impound. The priority of right to store or impound water under this act shall date from the filing of the application in the state engineer's office.

Owner's report of persons entitled to use water; superintendent's report of use of water. The owner of each reservoir shall annually, in writing, before or during the irrigating season and before the releasing of the water from the reservoir, deliver to the water commissioner hav…

Deeds for water rights; attaching of rights to land; sale, lease, transfer or use. The reservoir water and rights acquired under reservoir permits and adjudications shall not attach to any particular lands except by deed, or other sufficient instrument conveying such water or wat…

recording. Deeds and leases for water rights; execution and All deeds for reservoir water and water rights and all leases of the same for periods of three (3) years or more shall be executed and acknowledged as deeds are executed, and shall be recorded in the office of the county…

Excess stored water to be furnished applicants; preferences; rates. The owner or owners of a reservoir impounding a greater quantity of water than the owner or owners thereof necessarily use for irrigation and other beneficial purposes in connection with their own lands shall, wh…

Applicability of ownership provisions. The provisions of this act shall apply to reservoirs heretofore lawfully constructed as well as to all reservoirs hereafter lawfully constructed.

Carey Act lands. This act shall not apply to Carey Act lands or reservoirs for their irrigation, nor to any water right or rights to the use of waters of natural streams of this state, initiated from such streams and used through any such reservoir. All acts and parts of acts in …

Witnesses' fees and mileage. Every witness who shall attend before the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, or before the person appointed to take testimony in causes relating to water rights, under subpoena, by request of any party, shall be entitled to the same fees and mil…

Change in point of diversion. (a) The storage of water by means of a reservoir is a diversion, and the point of diversion is the point defined in the permit where the longitudinal axis of the dam crosses the center of the streambed. (b) A change in point of diversion of a reservo…

Failure to use water; extension of time; initiation by benefitted or injured user; hearing; appeal. (a) Where the holder of an appropriation of water from a surface, underground or reservoir water source fails, either intentionally or unintentionally, to use the water therefrom f…

Initiation by state engineer; hearing; appeal. (a) When any appropriator has failed, intentionally or unintentionally, to use any portion of surface, underground or reservoir water appropriated by him, whether under an adjudicated or unadjudicated right, for a period of five (5) …

Water divisions defined. (a) The state of Wyoming is hereby divided into four (4) water divisions, as follows: (i) Water Division No. 1 shall consist of all lands within this state, drained by the North Platte River, and the tributaries of the North Platte River and the South Pla…

Superintendents; appointment; removal; number; qualifications; examination. There shall be one (1) superintendent for each division, who shall be appointed by the governor and who shall be a resident of the water division for which he is appointed. The governor may remove any sup…

Superintendents; duties generally. Said division superintendent shall have general control over the water commissioners of the several districts within his division. He shall, under the general supervision of the state engineer, execute the laws relative to the distribution of wa…

Superintendents; powers generally. Said division superintendent shall have authority to order, in writing, the construction of suitable ditches to carry the return waters from any ditch or lands to the main stream or proper waste way; he shall have the authority, and it shall be …

Superintendents; compensation and traveling expenses; full time devoted to duties. Each division superintendent of a water division shall receive an annual salary as determined by the human resources division of the department of administration and information, payable in monthly…

regulations. Superintendents; appeal from order or Any person, ditch company, or ditch owner, who may deem himself injured or discriminated against by any such order or regulations of such division superintendent, shall have the right to appeal from the same to the state engineer…

Division of state into districts. The board of control shall divide the state into water districts, said water districts to be so constituted as to secure the best protection to the claimants for water and the most economical supervision on the part of the state; in laying out su…

Commissioners; appointment; term; removal; filling of vacancies; hydrographers. (a) The governor shall appoint a water commissioner for each water district, if needed, who shall be selected from persons recommended by the superintendent of the water division in which the water di…

Commissioners; general powers and duties; appeals from decisions. (a) The water commissioner shall, as near as may be practicable, divide, regulate and control the use of the water of all streams, springs, lakes or other sources of water within his district as will prevent the wa…

Commissioners; additional powers and duties; defense by county attorney. It shall be the duty of the said water commissioner to divide the water of the natural stream or streams of his district among the several ditches and reservoirs taking water therefrom, according to the prio…

Commissioners; power to arrest; procedure following arrests. The water commissioners or their assistants, within their districts shall have power to arrest any person or persons offending, and turn them over to the sheriff of the proper county, and immediately upon delivering the…