Arizona Laws 45-188. Future rights acquired through appropriation; rights within service area of agricultural or municipal provider
A. Any person who is entitled to divert or withdraw public waters of the state through an appropriation and evidenced by a certificate of water right issued under article 5 of this chapter, a court decree, or previous possession or continued beneficial use and who intentionally abandons the use thereof or who voluntarily fails, without sufficient cause, to beneficially use all or any part of the right to withdraw for any period of five successive years shall relinquish such right or portion thereof. The rights relinquished shall revert to the state, and the waters affected by such rights shall become available for appropriation to the extent they are not lawfully claimed or used by existing appropriators.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-188
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Appropriator: means the person or persons initiating or perfecting the right to use appropriable water based on state law, or the person's successor or successors in interest. See Arizona Laws 45-101
- Beneficial use: includes but is not limited to use for domestic, municipal, recreation, wildlife, including fish, agricultural, mining, stockwatering and power purposes. See Arizona Laws 45-181
- Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
- Person: means any individual, partnership, association, public or private corporation, city or other municipality, county or state agency, a recognized Indian tribe and the United States of America when claiming water rights established under the laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 45-181
- water: means waters of all sources flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, flood, waste or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface. See Arizona Laws 45-181
B. If a use or claim is subject to forfeiture by nonuse, failure by the appropriator to use water within a five year period does not result in a forfeiture of the associated water right if water use is resumed before the occurrence of the earlier of any of the following:
1. The initiation of proceedings pursuant to section 45-189 to determine whether the right has been forfeited or abandoned.
2. The filing by a third party of a statement of claimant in a general adjudication instituted pursuant to article 9 of this chapter that asserts the right to use water from the stream in which the subject nonuse has occurred.
3. The assertion by a third party of written objections in response to an application by the appropriator to sever and transfer the right pursuant to section 45-172.
C. Conservation of water pursuant to a water conservation plan notice filed with the director as prescribed by Section 45-189.01 does not constitute an abandonment or forfeiture of the water conserved.