Utah · statute · Utah Code tit. 73 · 526 active provisions
(1) All waters in this state, whether above or under the ground, are hereby declared to be the property of the public, subject to all existing rights to the use thereof. (2) The declaration of public ownership of water in Subsection (1) does not create or recognize an easement for public recreational use on private pro…
The standard unit of measurement of the flow of water shall be the discharge of one cubic foot per second of time, which shall be known as a second-foot; and the standard unit of measurement of the volume of water shall be the acre-foot, being the amount of water upon an acre covered one foot deep, equivalent to 43,560…
Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure and the limit of all rights to the use of water in this state.
(1) As used in this section: (a) "Lower basin" means the same as that term is defined in Section 73-12a-2. (b) "Public entity" means: (i) the United States; (ii) an agency of the United States; (iii) the state; (iv) a state agency; (v) a political subdivision of the state; or (vi) an agency of a political subdivision o…
(1) (a) If a water right, to which a water company holds title, ceases or is lost due to forfeiture or abandonment for lack of beneficial use, in whole or in part, the water company shall, through procedures consistent with this section, and as defined in the company's articles of incorporation or bylaws, apportion the…
The use of water for beneficial purposes, as provided in this title, is hereby declared to be a public use.
Any person shall have a right of way across and upon public, private and corporate lands, or other rights of way, for the construction, maintenance, repair and use of all necessary reservoirs, dams, water gates, canals, ditches, flumes, tunnels, pipelines and areas for setting up pumps and pumping machinery or other me…
(1) When a person with no existing shareholder or contractual rights in the canal or ditch described in this Subsection (1) desires to convey water for irrigation or any other beneficial purpose and there is a canal or ditch already constructed that can be used or enlarged to convey the required quantity of water, the…
(1) As used in this section: (a) "Water facility" means a dam, pipeline, culvert, flume, conduit, ditch, head gate, canal, reservoir, spring box, well, meter, weir, valve, casing, cap, or other facility used for the diversion, transportation, distribution, measurement, collection, containment, or storage of irrigation…
When two or more persons are associated in the use of any dam, canal, reservoir, ditch, lateral, flume or other means for conserving or conveying water for the irrigation of land or for other purposes, each of them shall be liable to the other for the reasonable expenses of maintaining, operating and controlling the sa…
(1) (a) A water right, whether evidenced by a decree, a certificate of appropriation, a diligence claim to the use of surface or underground water, or a water user's claim filed in general determination proceedings, shall be transferred by deed in substantially the same manner as is real estate. (b) The deed must be re…
(1) (a) A water right appurtenant to land shall pass to the grantee of the land unless the grantor: (i) specifically reserves the water right or any part of the water right in the land conveyance document; (ii) conveys a part of the water right in the land conveyance document; or (iii) conveys the water right in a sepa…
Every deed of a water right which shall not be recorded as provided in this title shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser, in good faith and for a valuable consideration, of the same water right, or any portion thereof, where the subsequent purchaser's deed shall be first duly recorded.
Any irrigation or reservoir company incorporated and existing under the laws of this state may purchase or subscribe for the capital stock of any other similar corporation which at the time of such purchase or subscription shall be or is about to be incorporated; provided, that such purchase or subscription shall be ma…
(1) As used in this section: (a) "Connection to a water facility" includes: (i) to introduce water or another substance into or take water from a water facility through a pipeline, flume, ditch, canal, trench, holding pond, or water collection structure; (ii) to place or maintain a structure capable of introducing wate…
(1) (a) When a person has a right-of-way of an established type or title for a water facility, as defined in Section 73-1-14, it is unlawful for a person to place or maintain in place any obstruction, or change of the water flow by fence or otherwise, along, across, in, or to the water facility, except as where the wat…
(1) As used in this section: (a) "Facility owner" means an individual, entity, mutual water company, or unincorporated organization: (i) operating a water conveyance facility; (ii) owning any interest in a water conveyance facility; or (iii) having a property interest in real property based on the presence of the water…
Where any water users' association, irrigation company, canal company, ditch company, reservoir company, or other corporation of like character or purpose, organized under the laws of this state has entered into or proposes to enter into a contract with the United States for the payment by such association or company o…
That irrigation companies, drainage districts, and irrigation districts heretofore organized under the laws of the state of Utah be and they are hereby authorized and empowered to borrow money from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, organized pursuant to an Act of Congress of the United States, or from any other g…
The money so borrowed shall be evidenced by the bond or bonds or other obligations of the irrigation companies, drainage districts, or irrigation districts borrowing the same and shall constitute and be secured by a first lien on the water rights, canal rights and all assets of the irrigation companies, and on all land…
The state of Utah, or any department, board or agency thereof, and any county, city, or town, owning or having control of land or improvements thereon which is in need of a supply of water for such land or the improvements thereon, or in need of facilities for conveyance of such water, is authorized to subscribe for or…
(1) It is the policy of the state that: (a) Utah shall pursue adequate, reliable, affordable, sustainable, and clean water resources, recognizing that Utah is one of the most arid states in the nation and as such, there is, and will continue to be, a need to ensure Utah's finite water resources are used beneficially; (…
The Department of Natural Resources may fund general litigation expenses and other costs incurred by the state related to litigation concerning the state's interests in water, including interests related to conservation, the right to use water, and the development of water resources.
(1) There shall be a state engineer. (2) The state engineer shall: (a) be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; (b) hold office for the term of four years and until a successor is appointed; and (c) have five years experience as a practical engineer or the theoretical knowledge, practical…
There is created the Division of Water Rights, which shall be within the Department of Natural Resources under the administration and general supervision of the executive director of natural resources. The Division of Water Rights shall be the water rights authority of the state of Utah and is vested with such powers a…