Oregon Revised Statutes
Or. Rev. Stat. § 539.140 (2026)
Water right certificates
✓ current as of May 2026
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539.140 Water right certificates. Upon the final determination of the rights to the waters of any stream, the Water Resources Department shall issue to each person represented in the determination a certificate setting forth the name and post-office address of the owner of the right; the priority of the date, extent and purpose of the right, and if the water is for irrigation purposes, a description of the legal subdivisions of land to which the water is appurtenant. The original certificate shall be mailed to the owner and a record of the certificate maintained in the Water Resources Department. [Amended by 1971 c.621 §38; 1975 c.607 §41; 1979 c.67 §4; 1991 c.102 §8]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14
cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1956–2025 · leading case: Klamath Irrigation Dist. v. United States, 227 P.3d 1145 (Or. 2010).
Klamath Irrigation Dist. v. United States, 227 P.3d 1145 (Or. 2010). “3d 277 (describing that process); ORS 539.140 (same). A person claiming an equitable interest in a water right does not receive a certificated right.”
Gerald Hawkins v. Debra Haaland, 991 F.3d 216 (D.C. Cir. 2021). “See Or. Rev. Stat. § 539.140 . The owner of an equitable interest, they continue, does not receive a certificate.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “250(1); ORS 539.140. As the department recognizes, issuance of a water-right certificate is an order in other than a contested case, subject to review under ORS 183.”
Wilber v. Wheeler, 543 P.2d 1052 (Or. 1975). “250 which, after the expiration of three months from the date it is issued, has not been contested and canceled in the manner provided in ORS 537.”
Klamath Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Dept., 518 P.3d 970 (Or. Ct. App. 2022). “Water rights that existed before the effective date of the Act were not superseded but were required to be “adjudicated” through a process codi- fied in ORS chapter 539 that includes administrative and judicial phases.”
Lesher v. Strid, 996 P.2d 988 (Or. Ct. App. 2000). “The 1977 water rights certificate, issued pursuant to ORS 539.140, was mailed by the Water Resources Department to defendant.”
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 468 P.3d 478 (Or. Ct. App. 2020). “The act also provides a process for formally adjudicating existing rights, which includes circuit court review and, upon final determination of those rights, the issuance of a water right certificate—that is, “a certificate setting forth the name and post-office address of the…”
East Valley Water v. Water Resources Comm'n, 374 Or. 148 (Or. 2025). “250(1) provides that, when an appropriation has been perfected in accordance with the act, the department “shall issue to the applicant a certificate of the same character as that described in ORS 539.140.” ORS 539.140, in turn, provides, in relevant part: 168 East Valley Water…”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 162 P.3d 1066 (Or. Ct. App. 2007). “230(4) *97 that shows, to the satisfaction of the department, that an appropriation has been perfected in accordance with the provisions of the Water Rights Act,[ 4 ] the department shall issue to the applicant a certificate of the same character as that described in ORS…”
Smyth v. Jenkins, 299 P.2d 819 (Or. 1956). “250 provides: “(1) Upon it appearing to the satisfaction of the State Engineer that an appropriation has been perfected in accordance with the provisions of the Water Rights Act, he shall issue to the applicant a certificate of the same character as that described in ORS…”
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 501 P.3d 507 (Or. 2021). “Statutes provide for a system to cer- tify water rights by which pre-1909 rights can be formally adjudicated, ORS 539.140, and post-1909 rights can be per- fected, ORS 537.”
Kerivan v. Water Resources Comm'n, 72 P.3d 659 (Or. Ct. App. 2003). “260, and a water right certificate, when issued under ORS 539.140, shall be conclusive evidence of the priority and extent of the appropriation therein described in any proceeding in any court or tribunal of the state, except in those cases where the rights of appropriation…”
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