WATER DEVELOPMENT IN WYOMING

A HISTORY OF WATER LAW, WATER RIGHTS & WATER DEVELOPMENT IN WYOMING

Written by: Craig Cooper, M.S. Cooper Consulting, LLC 1627 Major Avenue Riverton, WY Illustrated by: Evan Simpson, P.E. Sunrise Engineering, Inc. 47 E. 4th Avenue Afton, WY 83110

A HISTORY OF WATER LAW, WATER RIGHTS & WATER DEVELOPMENT IN WYOMING

1868-2002

June 2004

FUNDED BY:

WYOMING WATER DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

And STATE ENGINEER'S OFFICE

Written by: Craig O. Cooper, M.S. Cooper Consulting, LLC

1627 Major Avenue Riverton, WY 82501

Illustrated by: Sunrise Engineering, Inc.

47 E. 4th Avenue Afton, WY 83110 Evan J. Simpson, P.E.

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Table of Contents

Preface .................................................................................................................... 4

Foreword by Pat Tyrrell........................................................................7

Part I.

The Territorial Years................................................................................... 9 The 1869 Laws ...........................................................................................10 The 1876 Laws ...........................................................................................11 The 1886 Laws ...........................................................................................12 The 1887 Laws ...........................................................................................14 The 1888 Laws ...........................................................................................15 The 1889 Constitutional Convention .........................................................17 The 1890 Territorial Laws..........................................................................19

Part II.

Early Statehood, 1890-1900 The 1890-91 State Laws.............................................................................22 The Period Between 1890 and 1900...........................................................28 The 1895 Laws ...........................................................................................28 Litigation 1890-1896 ..................................................................................30 The 1899 Laws ...........................................................................................31

Part III. The Development Years, 1900-1930 The Period Between 1900 and 1907...........................................................32 The 1907 Laws ...........................................................................................36 Litigation 1900-1910 ..................................................................................37 The 1909-1910 Laws..................................................................................39 The 1911 Laws ...........................................................................................40 The 1913 Laws ...........................................................................................42 The 1915 Laws ...........................................................................................43 The 1917 Laws ...........................................................................................44 Litigation 1910-1920 ..................................................................................45 The Period Between 1920 and 1930...........................................................47 The 1921 Laws ...........................................................................................48 The 1923 Laws ...........................................................................................50 The 1925 Laws ...........................................................................................50 Litigation 1920-1930 ..................................................................................50

Part IV. Protectionism, 1930-1970 The Period Between 1930 and 1940...........................................................53 Interstate Court Decrees, 1930's ................................................................56 Interstate Compacts, 1930's .......................................................................57 The 1935 Laws ...........................................................................................60 Litigation 1930-1940 ..................................................................................60 The Period Between 1940 to 1950 .............................................................62

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The 1941 Laws ...........................................................................................62 The 1945 Laws ...........................................................................................64 The 1947 Laws ...........................................................................................64 Litigation 1930-1940 ..................................................................................66 The Period Between 1950 and 1960...........................................................67 The 1951 Laws ...........................................................................................69 The 1955 Laws ...........................................................................................70 The 1957 Laws ...........................................................................................71 The 1959 Laws ...........................................................................................73 Litigation 1950-1960 ..................................................................................74 The Period Between 1960 and 1970...........................................................75 The 1965 and 1967 Laws ...........................................................................75 The 1969 Laws ...........................................................................................77 Litigation 1960-1970 ..................................................................................78

Part V.

Years of Challenge, 1970-2000 The Period Between 1970 and 1980...........................................................80 The 1973 Laws ...........................................................................................81 The 1975, 1977 and 1979 Laws .................................................................82 Litigation 1970-1980 ..................................................................................84 The Period Between 1980 and 1990...........................................................86 The 1985 and 1986 Laws ...........................................................................87 Litigation 1980-1990 ..................................................................................88 The Period Between 1990 and 2000...........................................................91 The 1991 Laws ...........................................................................................92 Litigation 1990-2000 ..................................................................................93

Part VI. Conclusion..................................................................................................96

REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................97

APPENDICES............................................................................... 103 A. Appropriation, Allotment and Duty of Water...........................104 B. Water Commissioners......................................................108 C. State Board of Control .....................................................112 D. Instream Flows ............................................................. 118

LIST OF MAPS Organization of Wyoming Territory, 1868.......................................20 The Five Counties and Major Waterways of Wyoming Territory, 1868......21 The Four Water Divisions Created by the Wyoming Constitution............23 Significant Reservoirs of Wyoming, Constructed 1879-2002.................52 Wyoming Rivers Contribution to Major River Basins of the U.S............59

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PREFACE

Wyoming's water laws have often been an example to other western states for their ability to keep order in the use of all the varied water supplies within her borders. Although somewhat of a latecomer among the western states to have her water supplies undergo widespread development, Wyoming was a frontrunner in pioneering concepts for the innovative handling of the complex process of bestowing the use of her water to her citizens. From the time of the initial creation in 1868 of the separate western territory now called Wyoming, her streams and rivers have been the lifeblood of her economy and growth. Indeed, the progression of water laws enacted first by territorial legislatures and then by the state legislature for using and allocating her waters can reflect the history and development of the State itself. The names of individuals found on Wyoming water right documents comprise a fascinating "who's who" of the founding figures in the State's progress from territorial times to the present.

Water is often looked at as a "free" resource, responsible for man's continued presence on earth, and consequently the inherent property of every living thing. Still, the history of mankind shows it to be one of the commodities over which wars for its control have been fought. Such contention has engendered, at least in the American west, the vesting of water control and distribution in responsible, neutral and knowledgeable quarters authorized to manipulate its use for the good of all. In Wyoming, that responsibility has been shared by the citizens of the state, through the legislature and offices of territorial and state government, employing, either intentionally or accidentally, many of the greatest water minds in the country.

Numerous individuals are responsible for the existence today of a water use system that meets the present needs of Wyoming residents and provides confidence in adequacy of supplies for the future. In The Conquest of Arid America published in 1899, William E. Smythe, journalist and chairman of the National Irrigation Congress, observed "Wyoming's place as the [water] lawgiver of the arid region is due neither to geographical location or to superior natural resources; certainly it is not due to large population. It owes its commanding position solely to the character and ability of a few public men who happen to have found in this line of work their best opportunity for usefulness." That comment is just as prudent today, over 100 years after its writing, as the list of those "few public men" has lengthened with the passage of time.

Documentation of the historic work of these individuals is carefully protected in various locations, and for a completely thorough investigation of their contributions to Wyoming's water history, there is no substitute for study of those documents in their entirety. Dozens of reports, articles, collections, pamphlets, and other writings have been prepared through the years, addressing various issues and aspects of water use in terms of contemporary thought and evolution of the laws. Such concepts as "appropriation," "duty of water," "beneficial use," "adjudication," "surplus," and others have been discussed and revisited regularly in Wyoming's history, and can only really be understood today when recognized in their historic context. An understanding of the sequence of development of the State's water laws and the context of the political climate

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