State explains Gold Wash adjudication process, deadlines and what residents must do

Chase McDonald, assistant state engineer for adjudication at the Utah Division of Water Rights, told a packed public meeting that the division is conducting a general adjudication for the Gold Wash area (Area 81, Book 4) to document and, where appropriate, quantify water rights.

The meeting focused on how the adjudication works, who must file a claim, and the schedule: the office will send a notice to file claims (May 15), claimants will have 90 days to file with a one-time 30-day extension if requested in writing during that initial 90-day window, and the office aims to finish a preliminary list of unclaimed rights by February 2026 and publish a proposed determination by December 2027.

McDonald said the adjudication is a court action under state law that joins water users with the state engineer to “evaluate the nature and extent of all of the water rights in each drainage” and to bring pre‑statutory and otherwise unrecorded rights onto the record. He emphasized that the process is governed by Utah statute and that the Division’s goal is to “increase the clarity of the water rights picture.”

Why the summons: McDonald explained that summonses and newspaper notices are sent to every known water‑right holder on the Division’s records and to property owners inside the division boundary…