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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230 (2026)

Time allowed for construction of irrigation or other work; extension; survey; map; requirements for supplemental water right

✓ current as of May 2026
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      537.230 Time allowed for construction of irrigation or other work; extension; survey; map; requirements for supplemental water right. (1) As used in this section, “undeveloped portion” means the difference between the maximum rate or duty specified in a water right permit and the maximum rate or duty diverted as of the later of:

      (a) June 29, 2005;

      (b) The time specified in the permit to perfect the water right; or

      (c) The time specified in the last-approved extension of time to perfect the water right.

      (2) Except for a holder of a permit for municipal, quasi-municipal, group domestic or group domestic expanded uses, the holder of a water right permit shall prosecute the construction of any proposed irrigation or other work with reasonable diligence and complete the construction within a reasonable time, as fixed in the permit by the Water Resources Department, not to exceed seven years from the date of approval.

      (3) The holder of a permit for municipal use shall commence and complete the construction of any proposed works within 20 years from the date on which a permit for municipal use is issued under ORS 537.211. The construction must proceed with reasonable diligence and be completed within the time specified in the permit, not to exceed 20 years. However, the department may order and allow an extension of time to complete construction or to perfect a water right beyond the time specified in the permit under the following conditions:

      (a) The holder shows good cause. In determining the extension, the department shall give due weight to the considerations described under ORS 539.010 (5) and to whether other governmental requirements relating to the project have significantly delayed completion of construction or perfection of the right;

      (b) The extension of time is conditioned to require that the holder submit, and obtain department approval of, a water management and conservation plan;

      (c) The extension of time is conditioned to provide that the holder may divert the undeveloped portion of the permit only upon approval by the department of the water management and conservation plan; and

      (d) For the first extension issued after June 29, 2005, for a permit for municipal use issued before November 2, 1998, the department finds that the undeveloped portion of the permit is conditioned to maintain, in the portions of waterways affected by water use under the permit, the persistence of fish species listed as sensitive, threatened or endangered under state or federal law. The department shall base its finding on existing data and upon the advice of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. An existing fish protection agreement between the permit holder and a state or federal agency that includes conditions to maintain the persistence of any listed fish species in the affected portion of the waterway is conclusive for purposes of the finding.

      (4)(a) The holder of a right for quasi-municipal, group domestic or group domestic expanded uses shall complete construction of proposed works and apply water beneficially within seven years from the date on which a permit for such uses is issued under ORS 537.211. The construction must proceed with reasonable diligence and be completed within the time specific in the permit, not to exceed seven years.

      (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Water Resources Department may, for good cause shown, order and allow one extension of time to complete construction and apply water beneficially, not exceeding:

      (A) Twenty years from the date that the extension is approved for quasi-municipal use.

      (B) Ten years from the date the extension is approved for group domestic use or group domestic expanded use.

      (c) In determining the extension under paragraph (b) of this subsection, the department shall give due weight to considerations in ORS 539.010 (5) and to whether other governmental requirements relating to the project have significantly delayed completion of the construction and beneficial application of the right.

      (5) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section and ORS 537.409, upon completion of beneficial use as required under this section, the holder of a permit shall hire a water right examiner certified under ORS 537.798 to survey the appropriation. Within one year after application of water to a beneficial use or the beneficial use date allowed in the permit, the holder shall submit a map of the survey as required by the Water Resources Department, that shall accompany the request for a water right certificate submitted to the department under ORS 537.250. If any property described in the permit is not included in the request for a water right certificate, the holder shall state the identity of the record owner of that property.

      (6) The Water Resources Director may waive the requirement under subsection (5) of this section that a holder of a permit hire a water right examiner certified under ORS 537.798 if:

      (a) The permit is a supplemental water right that shares the same distribution system and same place of use as the primary water right; and

      (b) The department determines that there is sufficient information in the records of the department to determine proof of beneficial use.

      (7) Notwithstanding ORS 537.410, for purposes of obtaining a water right certificate under ORS 537.250 for a supplemental water right, the holder of a permit shall have a facility capable of handling the full rate and duty of water requested from the supplemental source and be otherwise ready, willing and able to use the amount of water requested, up to the amount of water approved in the water right permit. To obtain a certificate for a supplemental water right, the holder is not required to have actually used water from the supplemental source if:

      (a) Water was available from the source of the primary water right and the primary water right was used pursuant to the terms of the primary water right; or

      (b) The nonuse of water from the supplemental source occurred during a period of time within which the exercise of the supplemental water right permit was not necessary due to climatic conditions. [Amended by 1985 c.617 §1; 1985 c.673 §201; 1987 c.542 §4; 1995 c.367 §2; 1995 c.416 §35; 1995 c.473 §5; 1997 c.446 §4; 1997 c.502 §1; 1997 c.557 §1; 1999 c.453 §1; 1999 c.665 §2; 2005 c.410 §1; 2017 c.704 §1; 2025 c.282 §25]

 

      Note: The amendments to 537.230 by section 25, chapter 282, Oregon Laws 2025, become operative April 1, 2026. See section 48, chapter 282, Oregon Laws 2025, as amended by section 21c, chapter 575, Oregon Laws 2025. The text that is operative until April 1, 2026, is set forth for the user’s convenience.

      537.230. (1) As used in this section, “undeveloped portion” means the difference between the maximum rate or duty specified in a water right permit and the maximum rate or duty diverted as of the later of:

      (a) June 29, 2005;

      (b) The time specified in the permit to perfect the water right; or

      (c) The time specified in the last-approved extension of time to perfect the water right.

      (2) Except for a holder of a permit for municipal use, the holder of a water right permit shall prosecute the construction of any proposed irrigation or other work with reasonable diligence and complete the construction within a reasonable time, as fixed in the permit by the Water Resources Department, not to exceed five years from the date of approval.

      (3) The holder of a permit for municipal use shall commence and complete the construction of any proposed works within 20 years from the date on which a permit for municipal use is issued under ORS 537.211. The construction must proceed with reasonable diligence and be completed within the time specified in the permit, not to exceed 20 years. However, the department may order and allow an extension of time to complete construction or to perfect a water right beyond the time specified in the permit under the following conditions:

      (a) The holder shows good cause. In determining the extension, the department shall give due weight to the considerations described under ORS 539.010 (5) and to whether other governmental requirements relating to the project have significantly delayed completion of construction or perfection of the right;

      (b) The extension of time is conditioned to require that the holder submit, and obtain department approval of, a water management and conservation plan;

      (c) The extension of time is conditioned to provide that the holder may divert the undeveloped portion of the permit only upon approval by the department of the water management and conservation plan; and

      (d) For the first extension issued after June 29, 2005, for a permit for municipal use issued before November 2, 1998, the department finds that the undeveloped portion of the permit is conditioned to maintain, in the portions of waterways affected by water use under the permit, the persistence of fish species listed as sensitive, threatened or endangered under state or federal law. The department shall base its finding on existing data and upon the advice of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. An existing fish protection agreement between the permit holder and a state or federal agency that includes conditions to maintain the persistence of any listed fish species in the affected portion of the waterway is conclusive for purposes of the finding.

      (4) Except as provided in ORS 537.240 and 537.248 and subsection (3) of this section, the Water Resources Department, for good cause shown, shall order and allow an extension of time, including an extension beyond the five-year limit established in subsection (2) of this section within which irrigation or other works shall be completed or the right perfected. In determining the extension, the department shall give due weight to the considerations described under ORS 539.010 (5) and to whether other governmental requirements relating to the project have significantly delayed completion of construction or perfection of the right.

      (5) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section and ORS 537.409, upon completion of beneficial use as required under this section, the holder of a permit shall hire a water right examiner certified under ORS 537.798 to survey the appropriation. Within one year after application of water to a beneficial use or the beneficial use date allowed in the permit, the holder shall submit a map of the survey as required by the Water Resources Department, that shall accompany the request for a water right certificate submitted to the department under ORS 537.250. If any property described in the permit is not included in the request for a water right certificate, the holder shall state the identity of the record owner of that property.

      (6) The Water Resources Director may waive the requirement under subsection (5) of this section that a holder of a permit hire a water right examiner certified under ORS 537.798 if:

      (a) The permit is a supplemental water right that shares the same distribution system and same place of use as the primary water right; and

      (b) The department determines that there is sufficient information in the records of the department to determine proof of beneficial use.

      (7) Notwithstanding ORS 537.410, for purposes of obtaining a water right certificate under ORS 537.250 for a supplemental water right, the holder of a permit shall have a facility capable of handling the full rate and duty of water requested from the supplemental source and be otherwise ready, willing and able to use the amount of water requested, up to the amount of water approved in the water right permit. To obtain a certificate for a supplemental water right, the holder is not required to have actually used water from the supplemental source if:

      (a) Water was available from the source of the primary water right and the primary water right was used pursuant to the terms of the primary water right; or

      (b) The nonuse of water from the supplemental source occurred during a period of time within which the exercise of the supplemental water right permit was not necessary due to climatic conditions.

 

      Note: Section 27, chapter 282, Oregon Laws 2025, provides:

      Sec. 27. (1) The amendments to ORS 537.230 and 537.630 by sections 25 and 26 of this 2025 Act apply to:

      (a) Development timelines on new water right permits for which the proposed final order for the water right permit application is issued on or after the operative date specified in section 48 of this 2025 Act [April 1, 2026].

      (b) Extension applications submitted on or after the operative date specified in section 48 of this 2025 Act for permits for quasi-municipal, group domestic or group domestic expanded uses.

      (2) Notwithstanding ORS 537.230 and 537.630, except for a holder of a permit for municipal, quasi-municipal, group domestic or group domestic expanded uses, the following applications for extensions on permits will be processed under subsection (3) of this section:

      (a) Permits with extension applications pending under ORS 537.230 or 537.630 for which a proposed final order on the extension has not been issued before the operative date specified in section 48 of this 2025 Act.

      (b) Permits with a proposed final order issued on a water right application before the operative date specified in section 48 of this 2025 Act if the extension application is submitted on or after the operative date specified in section 48 of this 2025 Act.

      (3) The Water Resources Department shall order and allow one extension of time for up to two years from the date that an extension is approved if the department determines that:

      (a) Fish-related conditions have been satisfied; and

      (b) Good cause for the extension has been shown. [2025 c.282 §27]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1956–2023 · leading case: Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 88 P.3d 327 (Or. Ct. App. 2004).
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Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 88 P.3d 327 (Or. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 30× “As pertinent to our review, the commission, in its order, applied ORS 537.230, which provides, in part: *101 “(1) Except as provided in ORS 537.”
WaterWatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 342 P.3d 712 (Or. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 32× “As relevant here, the ALJ concluded that ORS 537.230 does not require the department to consider climate change in setting fish-persistence conditions.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 36× “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 188 P.3d 277 (Or. 2008). · cites it 7× “140(1); ORS 537.230(1); ORS 537.230(4). However, until the department issues the certificate, the party’s water use permit establishes an inchoate, rather than a vested, water right.”
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 324 Or. App. 362 (Or. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 25× “ORS 537.230[(3)]. A municipal water holder can obtain an extension of time of those deadlines if the department finds that three statutory conditions have been satisfied.”
Teel Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Dep't, 919 P.2d 1172 (Or. 1996). · cites it 5× “Although, historically, such surveys were prepared by the department, the 1987 legislature amended ORS 537.230 to require the permittee to hire a certified water right examiner to survey the appropriation.”
Teel Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Dep't, 898 P.2d 1344 (Or. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 4× “When the diversion is complete and the application to a beneficial purpose accomplished, the permit holder must submit a survey of the appropriation, called a final proof survey, to the department.”
Hale v. Water Resources Dep't, 55 P.3d 497 (Or. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “Water rights certificates may be granted only “[a]fter the Water Resources Department has received a request for issuance of a water right certificate accompanied by the survey required under ORS 537.230(3) that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation…”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 162 P.3d 1066 (Or. Ct. App. 2007). “250 provides: “(1) After the Water Resources Department has received a request for issuance of a water right certificate accompanied by the survey required under ORS 537.230(4) *97 that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation has been perfected in…”
Green v. Wheeler, 458 P.2d 938 (Or. 1969). “260 (1) provides as follows: “Whenever the time within which any appropriation under a permit should have been perfected has expired and the owner of the permit fails or refuses within three months thereafter to submit to the State Engineer proof of completion of the…”
Smyth v. Jenkins, 299 P.2d 819 (Or. 1956). “ORS 537.230 provides: “Except as provided in ORS 537.”
Bridge Creek Ranch v. Water Resources Dept. (Or. Ct. App. 2023). “250 provides: “(1) After the Water Resources Department has received a request for issuance of a water right certificate accompanied by the survey required under ORS 537.230 that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation has been perfected in accordance…”
Show all 13 citing cases →
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(1) — 4 cases
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 88 P.3d 327 (Or. Ct. App. 2004). “As pertinent to our review, the commission, in its order, applied ORS 537.230, which provides, in part: *101 “(1) Except as provided in ORS 537.”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 188 P.3d 277 (Or. 2008). “140(1); ORS 537.230(1); ORS 537.230(4). However, until the department issues the certificate, the party’s water use permit establishes an inchoate, rather than a vested, water right.”
Teel Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Dep't, 919 P.2d 1172 (Or. 1996). “Although, historically, such surveys were prepared by the department, the 1987 legislature amended ORS 537.230 to require the permittee to hire a certified water right examiner to survey the appropriation.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(2) — 4 cases
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 88 P.3d 327 (Or. Ct. App. 2004). “As pertinent to our review, the commission, in its order, applied ORS 537.230, which provides, in part: *101 “(1) Except as provided in ORS 537.”
Teel Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Dep't, 919 P.2d 1172 (Or. 1996). “Although, historically, such surveys were prepared by the department, the 1987 legislature amended ORS 537.230 to require the permittee to hire a certified water right examiner to survey the appropriation.”
WaterWatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 342 P.3d 712 (Or. Ct. App. 2014). “As relevant here, the ALJ concluded that ORS 537.230 does not require the department to consider climate change in setting fish-persistence conditions.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(2)(a) — 1 case
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(2)(b) — 1 case
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(2)(c) — 3 cases
WaterWatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 342 P.3d 712 (Or. Ct. App. 2014). “As relevant here, the ALJ concluded that ORS 537.230 does not require the department to consider climate change in setting fish-persistence conditions.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 324 Or. App. 362 (Or. Ct. App. 2023). “ORS 537.230[(3)]. A municipal water holder can obtain an extension of time of those deadlines if the department finds that three statutory conditions have been satisfied.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(3) — 1 case
Hale v. Water Resources Dep't, 55 P.3d 497 (Or. Ct. App. 2002). “Water rights certificates may be granted only “[a]fter the Water Resources Department has received a request for issuance of a water right certificate accompanied by the survey required under ORS 537.230(3) that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(3)(d) — 1 case
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 324 Or. App. 362 (Or. Ct. App. 2023). “ORS 537.230[(3)]. A municipal water holder can obtain an extension of time of those deadlines if the department finds that three statutory conditions have been satisfied.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.230(4) — 3 cases
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 188 P.3d 277 (Or. 2008). “140(1); ORS 537.230(1); ORS 537.230(4). However, until the department issues the certificate, the party’s water use permit establishes an inchoate, rather than a vested, water right.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “230(2) — specifically, that the department erred in measuring whether there was an “undeveloped portion of the permit,” ORS 537.230 (2)(c), and whether the maximum rate of water had been “diverted for beneficial use before the extension,” ORS 537.”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 162 P.3d 1066 (Or. Ct. App. 2007). “250 provides: “(1) After the Water Resources Department has received a request for issuance of a water right certificate accompanied by the survey required under ORS 537.230(4) *97 that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation has been perfected in…”
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