Utah Code » Title 73, Chapter 3 — Appropriation
Utah Code

Utah Code § 73-3-1 (2026)

Appropriation -- Manner of acquiring water rights

✓ current as of May 2026
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A person may acquire a right to the use of the unappropriated public waters in this state only as provided for in this title.
The appropriation of public waters in the state shall comply with the requirements of this title.
Except as provided in Subsection (7), a person obtaining, initiating the use of, or providing notice of intent to appropriate a water right shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.
An appropriation may be made only for a useful and beneficial purpose.
Between appropriators, the one first in time is first in rights.
A person may not acquire a right to the use of water either appropriated or unappropriated by adverse use or adverse possession.
Notwithstanding Section 73-3-2, a person may directly capture and store precipitation as provided in Section 73-3-1.5.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1956–2025 · leading case: Green River Canal Co. v. Thayn, 2003 UT 50 (Utah 2003).
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Green River Canal Co. v. Thayn, 2003 UT 50 (Utah 2003). · cites it 4× “Utah Code Ann. § 73-3-1 (1989 & Supp.2002).”
East Jordan Irrigation Co. v. Morgan, 860 P.2d 310 (Utah 1993). · cites it 8× “Utah Code Ann. § 73-3-1 directs how one becomes legally "entitled" to the use of water: Rights to the use of unappropriated waters of this state may be acquired only as provided in this title.”
Little v. Greene & Weed Inv., 839 P.2d 791 (Utah 1992). · cites it 6× “Utah Code Ann. § 73-3-1 (1989). The application must include certain information such as the nature of the use, the quantity of water to be used, and the source of the water.”
Eskelsen v. Town of Perry, 819 P.2d 770 (Utah 1991). · cites it 4× “In 1903, the Utah legislature enacted a statute providing that the filing of an application to appropriate with the state engineer is the exclusive method for a prospective water user to establish a claim to water rights.”
Tanner v. Carter, 2001 UT 18 (Utah 2001). · cites it 2× “See Utah Code Ann. §§ 73-3-1 to -17 (1989 & Supp.”
J.J.N.P. Co. v. State Ex Rel. Div. of Wildlife Resources, 655 P.2d 1133 (Utah 1982). · cites it 2× “The argument is that the statutory classification which prohibits private fish installations on natural watercourses, reservoirs on such watercourses, and lakes, but allows them on manmade watercourses, constitutes an unconstitutional discrimination.”
Arave v. Pineview West Water Co., 2020 UT 67 (Utah 2020). · cites it 3× “¶28 We begin by identifying those rules. We then explain how they combine to establish the elements of a prima facie case for interference with a water right.”
Liston v. Liston, 269 P.3d 169 (Utah Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “In fact, the parties own four shares of capital stock in the Holliday Water Company, which entitles the owner of the stock to 60,000 gallons of water per year/per share without charge. In contrast, a water right is a property right that allows its owner to acquire the use of…”
Bingham v. Roosevelt City Corp., 2010 UT 37 (Utah 2010). “§ 73-3-1. 36 . 8 Utah 2d 55 , 328 P.2d 175, 175-76 (1958).”
Loosle v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n of Logan, 858 P.2d 999 (Utah 1993). · cites it 3× “See Utah Code Ann. §§ 73-3-1 to -17. The initial step requires filing an application to appropriate water.”
Otter Creek Reservoir Co. v. New Escalante Irrigation Co., 2009 UT 16 (Utah 2009). · cites it 2× “See Utah Code Ann. § 73-3-1 (1989). Thus, since 1939, water rights in Utah cannot be obtained by adverse use.”
Q-2 L.L.C. v. Hughes, 2016 UT 8 (Utah 2016). “2d 894, 900 (1937), superseded on other grounds by statute, Urax Cope § 73-3-1 ("One may obtain . title by disseisin of the owner and use and possession of the [property] for the statutory time, commonly called 'adverse possession.”
Show all 25 citing cases →
— Utah Code § 73-3-1(4) — 1 case
Water Horse v. Wilhelmsen, 2025 UT 43 (Utah 2025).
— Utah Code § 73-3-1(5)(a) — 1 case
Arave v. Pineview West Water Co., 2020 UT 67 (Utah 2020). “¶28 We begin by identifying those rules. We then explain how they combine to establish the elements of a prima facie case for interference with a water right.”
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