A. The director shall issue and deliver a notice of each claim to water users who, in the judgment of the director, might be affected by the use of water as set forth in the claim.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-274

  • Department: means the department of water resources. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • stockpond: means a pond having a capacity of not more than fifteen acre feet that is used solely for watering livestock or wildlife. See Arizona Laws 45-271

B. Any person affected may, within the time allowed in the notice or such further time as the director may allow, file a written protest to the claim. The protesting party shall send a copy of the protest to the claimant.

C. A protest shall state:

1. The name and address of the protesting party.

2. The location of the protesting party’s point of diversion of water with respect to the claimant’s stockpond.

3. The grounds for protest.

4. That a copy of the protest has been mailed or delivered to the claimant.

D. The grounds for protest are that the claim contains a misstatement of one or more of the following material facts:

1. The date of construction of the stockpond.

2. The capacity of the stockpond on August 27, 1977.

3. The sole purpose for which the stockpond was constructed and is used is watering livestock or wildlife, except fish.

4. The pond is not used primarily for fishing or culturing of fish.

5. That the stockpond was not the subject of water rights litigation or protest to the state land department prior to August 27, 1977.