All waters within the limits of the state from the following sources of water supply belong to
the public and are subject to appropriation for beneficial use and the right to the use of these
waters for such use must be acquired pursuant to chapter 61-04:
1. Waters on the surface of the earth, excluding diffused surface waters but including
surface waters whether flowing in well-defined channels or flowing through lakes,
ponds, or marshes which constitute integral parts of a stream system, or waters in
lakes;
2. Waters under the surface of the earth whether such waters flow in defined
subterranean channels or are diffused percolating underground water;
3. All residual waters resulting from beneficial use, and all waters artificially drained; and
4. All waters, excluding privately owned waters, in areas determined by the department
of water resources to be noncontributing drainage areas. A noncontributing drainage
area is any area that does not contribute natural flowing surface water to a natural
stream or watercourse at an average frequency more often than once in three years
over the latest thirty-year period.
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
11
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1963–2023 · leading case:
Baeth v. Hoisveen, 157 N.W.2d 728 (N.D. 1968).
Baeth v. Hoisveen, 157 N.W.2d 728 (N.D. 1968).
· cites it 28× “), asking that the plaintiffs' rights as owners of the land overlying underground water in a well-defined stream be adjudicated, and that Section 61-01-01, N.D.C.C., and Section 47-01-13, N.”
Mougey Farms v. Kaspari, 579 N.W.2d 583 (N.D. 1998).
· cites it 6× “1968) (upholding constitutionality of N.D.C.C. § 61-01-01, but recognizing vested riparian rights which were contingent upon application of water to a beneficial use).”
Sorum v. State, 2020 ND 175 (N.D. 2020).
· cites it 2× “In United Plainsmen, this Court stated N.D.C.C. § 61-01-01 expresses the public trust doctrine.”
Parks v. Cooper, 2004 SD 27 (S.D. 2004).
“” ND Cent Code § 61-01-01. This section, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled, expresses the public trust doctrine, which “permits alienation and allocation of such precious state [water] resources only after an analysis of the present supply and future need.”
Undlin v. City of Surrey, 262 N.W.2d 742 (N.D. 1978).
· cites it 3× “In Baeth, supra, this Court upheld the constitutionality of § 61-01-01, NDCC, 2 which asserts public ownership of much of North Dakota’s water resources, against a claim that this statute works a deprivation of property without due process of law.”
Sorum v. State, 2020 ND 175 (N.D. 2020).
· cites it 2× “In United Plainsmen, this Court stated N.D.C.C. § 61-01-01 expresses the public trust doctrine.”
Volkmann v. City of Crosby, 120 N.W.2d 18 (N.D. 1963).
· cites it 2× “1943. It is under this chapter that the City of Crosby applied to and received from the State Engineer Water License No.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.