Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106 (2026)

Adjudication of water rights.

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) The state of Wyoming upon the relation of the attorney
general may institute an action to have determined in a general
adjudication the nature, extent, and relative priority of the
water rights of all persons in any river system and all other
sources, provided:

          (i)    For the purposes of this section:

               (A) The term "general adjudication" shall mean
the judicial determination or establishment of the extent and
priority of the rights to use water of all persons on any river
system and all other sources within the state of Wyoming. The
court conducting such a general adjudication shall:

                    (I) Certify to the state board of control
those legal and factual issues which the court deems appropriate
for the board to determine. Upon such certification, the board
shall exercise those powers and follow those procedures set
forth in Rule 53 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure;

                    (II) Confirm those rights evidenced by
previous court decrees, or by certificates of appropriation, or
by certificates of construction heretofore issued by the Wyoming
state board of control;

                    (III) Determine the status of all
uncancelled permits to acquire the right to the use of the water
of the state of Wyoming and adjudicate all perfected rights
thereunder not theretofore adjudicated under W.S. 41-4-511;
                    (IV) Determine the extent and priority date
of and adjudicate any interest in or right to use the water of
the river system and all other sources not otherwise represented
by the aforedescribed decrees, certificates, or permits;

                    (V) Establish, in whatever form determined
to be most appropriate by the court, one or more tabulations or
lists of all water rights and their relative priorities on the
river system and all other sources.

               (B) The word "person" shall be construed to mean
an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a municipality, the
state of Wyoming, the United States of America, or any other
legal entity, public or private.

          (ii) When the potential defendants number one
thousand (1,000) or more, personal service of a summons and
complaint shall not be required and (A) the court shall order
that the clerk obtain service on known potential defendants by
mailing a court-approved notice of the action by certified mail,
return receipt requested, and (B) the court shall order that the
clerk obtain service on all unknown parties by publication of
said notice for four (4) consecutive weeks in a newspaper
published in each of the counties within which interests in and
rights to the use of water may be affected by the adjudication.
If there is no newspaper in one (1) or more of said counties,
then publication for such counties shall be in one (1) or more
newspapers published in the state, and of general circulation
within said counties. If publication is in a daily newspaper,
one (1) insertion a week shall be sufficient;

          (iii) The complaint for such a general adjudication
shall be captioned: "In re the General Adjudication of All
Rights to Use Water in the .... River System and All Other
Sources, State of Wyoming";

          (iv) When the water rights to be determined are
located in more than one (1) county, the general adjudication
may be brought in any of the counties.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases, 1988–2015 · leading case: In Re Rights to Use Water in Big Horn River, 753 P.2d 76 (Wyo. 1988).

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In Re Rights to Use Water in Big Horn River, 753 P.2d 76 (Wyo. 1988). · cites it 6× “1957 (now § 1-37-106, W.S. 1977), authorizing the State to commence system-wide adjudications of water rights.”

In Re the Gen. Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Big Horn River Sys., 835 P.2d 273 (Wyo. 1992). · cites it 8× “See Wyo.Stat. § 1-37-106 (1988). We hold that the district court had no "inherent equitable enforcement authority," as argued by the Tribes, to effectuate a de facto removal and replacement of the state engineer as the administrator of state water within the reservation.”

In Re the Gen. Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Big Horn River Sys., 2004 WY 21 (Wyo. 2003). · cites it 7× “FACTS [¶ 5] This appeal arises out of the continuing, comprehensive adjudication of the water rights in the Big Horn River system initiated in 1977 pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-37-106 (LexisNexis 2003) and the McCarran Amendment, 43 U.”

Ultra Resources, Inc., a Wyoming Corp., 2015 WY 40 (Wyo. 2015). · cites it 2× “See Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-37-106 & 1-37-110 (1988).”

In Re Big Horn River Sys., 803 P.2d 61 (Wyo. 1990). · cites it 2× “The purpose of the action was to obtain a general adjudication of water rights in the Big Horn River system and all other sources of water within Water Division No.”

Wyoming v. United States, 933 F. Supp. 1030 (D. Wyo. 1996). · cites it 7× “In fact, Wyoming's procedure for the general adjudication of water rights is codified at Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106. See In re Big Horn River, 899 P.”

In Re Gen. Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in Big Horn River Sys., 899 P.2d 848 (Wyo. 1995). “§ 1-37-106 (1977) and the McCarran Amendment, 43 U.”

In Re: The Gen. Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Big Horn River Sys. & All Other Sources, State of Wyoming<br /><br />Frank E. Mohr v. State, 2015 WY 104 (Wyo. 2015). · cites it 2× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-37-106 (LexisNexis 2015).”

State v. Owl Creek Irrigation Dist. Members, 753 P.2d 76 (Wyo. 1988). · cites it 5× “1957 (now § 1-37-106, W.S.1977), authorizing the State to commence system-wide adjudications of water rights.”

Alexander v. United States, 803 P.2d 61 (Wyo. 1990). · cites it 2× “The purpose of the action was to obtain a general adjudication of water rights in the Big Horn River system and all other sources of water within Water Division No.”

Riverton Valley Irrigation Dist. v. Big Horn Canal Ass'n, 899 P.2d 848 (Wyo. 1995). · cites it 2× “2 This appeal arises out of the continuing adjudication of ail water rights in the Big Horn River System which was begun in 1977 in accordance with the provisions of Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106 (1977) and the McCarran Amendment, 43 U.”

State of Wyo. v. United States, 933 F. Supp. 1030 (D. Wyo. 1996). · cites it 7× “Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' amended complaint is GRANTED.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106(a)(i)(A)(I) — 1 case

In Re Rights to Use Water in Big Horn River, 753 P.2d 76 (Wyo. 1988). “1957 (now § 1-37-106, W.S. 1977), authorizing the State to commence system-wide adjudications of water rights.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106(a)(i)(A)(III) — 1 case

In Re the Gen. Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Big Horn River Sys., 2004 WY 21 (Wyo. 2003). “FACTS [¶ 5] This appeal arises out of the continuing, comprehensive adjudication of the water rights in the Big Horn River system initiated in 1977 pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-37-106 (LexisNexis 2003) and the McCarran Amendment, 43 U.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 1-37-106(a)(i)(A)(IV) — 1 case

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