Title 41 — Title 41 — Water

Commissioners; performance of duties; requests for regulation. Each water commissioner shall perform his duties under the general direction and supervision of the superintendent of his water division. Any holder of a Wyoming water right may request that the source of supply for h…

Commissioners; salaries and expenses. Water commissioners shall be paid a salary recommended by the state engineer and the division superintendent and approved by the governor. Water commissioners shall be paid by the state according to the procedures established by the human res…

Commissioners; reports. (a) All water commissioners, when on duty, shall make reports whenever called upon to do so, by the division superintendent of their division. Said reports shall contain the following information: (i) The amount of water actually coming into the district t…

Commissioners; disqualification for personal interest or prejudice. Whenever an affidavit is filed with the state engineer by a water user stating that the water commissioner of a district has a personal interest or prejudice in the use of water from a stream and that the person …

substitute. Commissioners; authority and duties of The substitute commissioner shall thereby be invested with the authority and duties possessed by the disqualified commissioner as to the portion of the stream in which the conflict of interest or prejudice is involved, subject to…

Commissioners; assistants. Subject to legislative appropriation, a division superintendent may, in cases of emergency, employ suitable assistants to aid a water commissioner in the discharge of his duties. Assistants shall take the same oath as the water commissioner, shall obey …

commissioner. Rotation among water users; approval of (a) To bring about a more economical use of the available water supply, it is lawful for water users owning lands to which are attached water rights, to rotate in the use of supply to which they may be collectively entitled, o…

Headgates, flumes or measuring devices; owners to construct and maintain; failure to comply. The owner or owners of any ditch or canal shall maintain, to the satisfaction of the division superintendent of the division in which the irrigation works are located, a substantial headg…

Well, headgate or waterbox; prohibited acts; penalty for violation. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully use or possess water which has been lawfully denied by the water commissioner or other competent authority or to open, close, change or interfere with any well, pu…

Approval of diversion dam plans. Plans for any diversion dam across the channel of a running stream, above five (5) feet in height, or of any other diversion dam intended to retain water above ten (10) feet in height, shall be submitted to the state engineer for his approval, and…

Penalties for violation of water laws. (a) Unless otherwise provided, any person violating any of the provisions of W.S. 41-3-112, 41-3-208, 41-3-301, 41-3-614, 41-3-914, 41-3-919, 41-3-938, 41-4-501, 41-4-504, 41-5-107, 41-5-108 or 41-5-110 after receipt of a written notice of v…

Purpose. (a) It is hereby declared that to provide for the conservation of the water resources of the state of Wyoming and for the greatest beneficial use of water within this state, the organization of water conservancy districts and the construction of works as herein defined b…

Short title; definitions. (a) This act may be known and cited as "Water Conservancy Act"; the districts created hereunder may be termed "water conservancy districts"; and the bonds which may be issued hereunder may be called "water conservancy bonds", and such designation may be …

proceeding. Effect of improper notice of judicial In any and every case where a notice is provided for in this act, if the court finds for any reason that due notice was not given, the court shall not thereby lose jurisdiction, and the proceeding in question shall not thereby be …

Hearings on validity of districts. All cases in which there may arise a question of the validity of the organization of a water conservancy district, or a question of the validity of any proceeding under this act shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and conc…

Liberal construction. This act being necessary to secure and preserve the public health, safety, convenience and welfare, and for the security of public and private property, it shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes of this act.

Power of district court. The district court sitting in and for any county in this state, or any judge thereof in vacation is hereby vested with jurisdiction, power and authority when the conditions stated in W.S. 41-3-721 are found to exist, to establish water conservancy distric…

Petition for creation; conditions affecting inclusion of city or city and county. (a) Before any water conservancy district shall be established under this act, a petition shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the court vested with jurisdiction, in a county in which all or…

Bond for expenses of proceedings. At the time of filing the petition or at any time subsequent thereto, and prior to the time of hearing on said petition a bond shall be filed, with security approved by the court, sufficient to pay all expenses connected with the proceedings in c…

Hearing procedure generally. (a) Immediately after the filing of such petition, the court wherein such petition is filed or a judge thereof in vacation, shall by order fix a place and time, not less than sixty (60) days nor more than ninety (90) days after the petition is filed, …

Protesting creation. (a) At any time after the filing of a petition for the organization of a conservancy district, and not less than thirty (30) days prior to the time fixed by the order of court for the hearing upon said petition, and not thereafter, a petition may be filed in …

Filing of decree and copies of findings. Within thirty (30) days after the said district has been declared a corporation by the court, the clerk of the court shall transmit to the secretary of state, to the state engineer, and to the county clerk and recorder in each of the count…

Procedure for organizing subdistricts. Subdistricts may be organized upon the petition of the owner of real property, within or partly within and partly without the district, which petition shall fulfill the same requirements concerning the subdistricts as the petition outlined i…

Appointment and qualifications; number; term; election of successors; vacancies; bond. (a) Within thirty (30) days after entering the decree incorporating said district, the court shall appoint a board of directors of the district consisting of not less than five (5) or more than…

Oath; election of officers; seal; records; compensation and expenses. (a) Each director, before entering upon his official duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath before an officer authorized to administer oaths, that he will support the constitution of the United States and …

Powers generally. (a) The board shall have power on behalf of said districts: (i) To have perpetual succession; (ii) To take by appropriation, grant, purchase, bequest, devise or lease, and to hold and enjoy water, water works, water rights and sources of water supply; and any an…

employees. Duties of secretary and chief engineer; other The secretary shall be custodian of the records of the district and of its corporate seal, and shall assist the board in such particulars as it may direct in the performance of its duties. The secretary shall attest, under …

Quorum. A majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum and a concurrence of a majority of those in attendance, in any matter, within their duties, shall be sufficient for its determination, except as otherwise herein provided.

Acquisition of rights-of-way. Whenever, pursuant to this act, the electors of a water conservancy district shall have authorized a contract with the United States for construction and acquisition of works and water rights, which contract shall have obligated the district to acqui…

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…

disability. Allotment of water to landowner under 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…

of resolution. Bonds; election prior to issuance; publication 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. 413-770, 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, an…

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…