Unused water rights risk forfeiture under adjudication; forfeited water reverts to the public, official says

Assistant State Engineer Chase McDonald explained that state law allows a court to declare a water right wholly or partially forfeited if it has not been put to beneficial use for a seven‑year period. He emphasized the division itself does not unilaterally cancel rights but will investigate and recommend forfeiture to the court: "The state engineer does not have the authority to forfeit a water right, but we'll go out and do our evaluation, and we will make a recommendation to a court, and the court can declare that that water right is forfeited or a portion of that water right."

McDonald read the statute’s effect verbatim at the meeting: when a court declares a water right forfeited, "the right to beneficially use the water reverts to the public and the water made available by forfeiture satisfies other water rights in the hydrologic system in order of priority date, and may be appropriated as provided in this title." He stressed the adjudication area is closed to new appropriations, undercutting any suggestion that the state will auction forfeited water to third parties.

What that means in practice: if a right is declared forfeited, the water it formerly entitled the holder to may be applied to satisfy existing rights in the system according to priority date. McDonald used the stream example: when a senior appropriator does not use its water, that water becomes available downstream to junior appropriators. He cautioned buyers considering purchasing an unused or unexercised right that a sale does not prevent the division’s statutory evaluation and a possible court forfeiture.

The meeting included procedural guidance to minimize forfeiture risk: file a timely water‑user claim if you believe you hold a right; maintain or demonstrate beneficial use where required; and contact division staff for help with title updates or filing. McDonald said the division will provide scanned file documents and field evaluations to support its recommendation and will communicate its proposed recommendation to claimants before submitting a proposed determination to the court.