Title 41 — Title 41 — Water

Pleadings and practice. All proceedings on appeal shall be conducted according to the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Procedure after judgment. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the district court immediately upon the entry of any judgment, order or decree by the district court, or by the judge thereof, in an appeal from the decision of the board of control, to transmit a certified copy of sa…

Costs; division of water pending appeal. All costs made and accruing by reason of such appeal shall be adjudged to be paid by the party or parties against whom such appeal shall be finally determined. During the time an appeal from the order of the board of control is pending in …

Permit required prior to construction of ditches, canals or other distributing works; contents of application; unlawful diversion or use of water prohibited; rulemaking authority. (a) Any person, association or corporation hereafter intending to acquire the right to the beneficia…

Application for permit to acquire right to beneficial use of public water; duty of state engineer upon receipt; use for irrigation purposes; defective applications; corrections; cancellation; extensions. On receipt of an application for a permit to acquire the right to the benefi…

Recordation; approval or rejection generally. All applications which shall comply with the provisions of this chapter, and with the regulations of the engineer's office, shall be recorded in a suitable book kept for that purpose; and it shall be the duty of the state engineer to …

Endorsement by state engineer; return to applicant; effect of approval or rejection. The refusal or approval of an application shall be endorsed thereon and a record made of such endorsement in the state engineer's office. The application so endorsed shall be returned to the appl…

rejection. Additional information before approval or (a) Before either approving or rejecting an application, the state engineer may require such additional information as will enable him to properly guard the public interests, and may, in the case of applications proposing to di…

Time limits for completing construction work; extensions; forfeiture of rights; cancellation of permit; notice of date of expiration to appropriator. Whenever the state engineer places his endorsement of approval on any application for a water permit, he shall require that actual…

Maps and plats; when required with application; contents; format requirements; copies; duties of state engineer generally. (a) Each application for a permit to appropriate waters for beneficial uses under a project embracing the major irrigable portion of an entire drainage basin…

Maps and plats; examination; approval; filing; return of copy. It shall be the duty of the state engineer to examine these maps or plats and to ascertain if they agree with the description contained in the application, and when found to agree, or made to agree, to approve the sam…

Maps and plats; additional information; longitudinal profiles of ditches. In case of ditches or canals carrying more than fifty (50) cubic feet of water per second, the engineer may require, in addition to the maps or plats above described, the following: a longitudinal profile o…

Maps and plats; additional information; cross section plans; plans of obstructions; reservoir specifications; field notes. The engineer may require, in addition to the maps and plats above described, a plan showing cross sections at a sufficient number of points to show the diffe…

The appropriator shall pay the necessary fees as provided by W.S. 41-4-511.

Final proof of appropriation; date of priority. The priority of such appropriation shall date from the filing of the application in the engineer's office.

Adjudication of underground water rights. After issuance of a permit, or recording of a statement of claim, or registration of a well, under the procedures provided for by law, and completion of the work according to the terms of the permit, as certified to by the state engineer …

Petition for amendment of permits; petition for amended certificate of appropriation; hearings on petition; notice; costs. (a) The state engineer may correct clerical errors and, upon written petition of the permit holder, amend any permit to appropriate water at any time prior t…

Endorsement of correction on records. When any permit is corrected by the state engineer, as authorized by this act, the corrections shall be endorsed on the records and shall not affect the priority of the permit.

Rules and regulations authorized for W.S. 41-4-514 through 41-4-516. The state engineer is hereby authorized to provide rules and regulations regarding the form of application and procedure to be followed by the applicant in proceeding under this act.

Appeal from action of state engineer or order of board of control. Any applicant who is aggrieved by the endorsement made by the state engineer upon his application, may, in writing, in an informal manner and without pleadings of any character, appeal to the board of control with…

Ditches; generally. The owner or owners of any ditch for irrigation, or other purposes, shall carefully maintain the embankments thereof so that the water of such ditch may not flood or damage the premises of others.

Ditches; jointly owned; action to recover proportionate share of work. In all cases where irrigating ditches are owned by two (2) or more persons and one (1) or more of such persons shall fail or neglect to do his, her or their proportionate share of the work necessary for the pr…

Ditches; jointly owned; lien for work. Upon the failure of any co-owner to pay his proportionate share of such expense as mentioned in W.S. 41-5-102, within thirty (30) days after receiving a statement of the same as performed by his co-owner or owners, such person or persons so …

Ditches; bridge to be built when ditch crosses public roads; costs of construction; failure to comply. When any such ditch or watercourse shall be constructed across any public traveled road, and not bridged within three (3) days thereafter, it shall be the duty of the county com…

When capital stock of irrigation companies assessable for maintenance. Any ditch or irrigation company or association, all the property or capital stock of which is owned by farmers or others, owning lands under the line of such company's or association's ditch, and receiving wat…

Keeping fish out of irrigation systems. The game and fish department of the state of Wyoming may construct and maintain, at or near the point of diversion where the water of any stream or reservoir is diverted by any means of conveyance from its natural channel, some fit and prop…

Removal or destruction of bridges or flumes. Whenever any person, persons or corporation shall remove or destroy any bridge or flume which crosses any ditch, canal or other irrigation works, when said flume or bridge is in good condition a legal right for such crossing having bee…

streams. Driving or floating logs, timber or lumber on (a) Any person, association or corporation desiring or intending to drive or float logs, timber or lumber down or upon any stream in this state shall, before commencing operations apply to the state engineer for a permit to d…

Construction of acts. (a) Nothing in this chapter contained, shall be so construed as to impair the prior vested rights of any mill or ditch owner, or other person, to the use of any such watercourse. (b) This chapter shall in no wise be construed as impairing or abridging any ri…

Prohibited acts; penalty for violation. It shall be unlawful for any person without authority, to willfully interfere with or damage any dam, diversion structure or means of conveyance whether jointly owned by the person, on the property or in the lawful possession of another, wi…

maintenance. Irrigation facility modification and (a) Any person who, acting directly or indirectly through an agent or representative, in trespass or in other violation of the rights of a user, wrongfully modifies an existing irrigation ditch or other irrigation facility in any …

Contractor's bond. Whenever any ditch or canal company, or other owner or owners, shall contract with any person, persons or corporation, for the construction of its, his or their ditch, canal or reservoir, or any part thereof, such company, owner or owners, shall take from the p…

Statement of mechanic's lien; delivery to owner of ditch; retention of unpaid amount from subsequent payments to contractor. Every laborer, mechanic, ranchman, farmer, merchant or other person performing any work or labor or furnishing any material, or goods of any kind which ent…

Statement of mechanic's lien; delivery of copy to contractor; time limits for disputing claims; recovery by civil action; application of W.S. 41-5-201 through 41-5-203. Whenever any verified account mentioned in W.S. 41-5-202 shall be placed in the hands of any such owner or owne…

Authority to cooperate. Whenever two (2) or more incorporated irrigation or drainage districts desire to cooperate in the operation and maintenance of their respective systems of irrigation or drainage works, they may do so by availing themselves of the provisions of this act, as…

generally. Election upon request of landowners; procedure The commissioners of any such district may, and, upon written request of not less than ten (10) landowners thereof, shall, at any time, submit to the qualified electors thereof the question as to whether or not they desire…

Certificate of election proceedings to be filed; effect of filing; effect of informal certificates on validity of election. Whenever any two (2) or more irrigation or drainage districts shall have voted to cooperate with one another under the provisions of this act, the respectiv…

Appeals. Any district aggrieved by any order of apportionment of operation and maintenance costs, or any part thereof, may obtain judicial review as provided by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Withdrawal from joint operations. The commissioners of any district belonging to any association formed hereunder, may at any time submit to the qualified electors of their district the question as to whether or not the district shall withdraw from such association. Such election…

The president shall preside at all meetings of the board. He may vote upon all questions, and, in case of tie, shall also cast the deciding vote. He shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by law, or the order of the board.

President. The presidency of the board of district managers shall devolve successively upon the representatives of the respective districts, and the order of succession shall be determined in the first instance by lot. The first president shall hold office until the first day of …

Secretary. The board of district managers shall appoint a secretary who may or may not be one of their number. Such secretary shall hold his position at the pleasure of the board, and shall perform such duties as may be imposed upon him by law, or order of the board.

Treasurer. The board of district managers shall appoint a treasurer for each of the associated districts. The same person may be the treasurer of two (2) or more districts, and may also be secretary of the board. The funds of the associated districts shall not be commingled, howe…

Adoption of name. At its first meeting, the board of district managers shall adopt a name which shall be formed by prefixing to the phrase "board of district managers", some word or words different from any used for a like purpose by any other board within the same judicial juris…

Powers generally. In the operation, maintenance, preservation and repair of the constructed works of the associated districts, and in the assessment, levy, collection and disbursement of district revenues for such purposes, and for the payment of the principal and interest on out…

Duties. It shall be the duty of the board of district managers so to control and conduct the affairs of the districts under their jurisdiction that each shall bear its just portion of the burdens and receive its just share of the benefits resulting from cooperating management. Ac…

Purchase of machinery, tools or equipment. In the operation and maintenance of the works under its charge, the board of district managers shall, as far as practicable, avoid a duplication of labor and equipment. It shall have no power, however, to purchase machinery, tools or oth…

Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 24, § 1.

Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 24, § 1.

Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 24, § 1.