Use It or Lose It, State by State: Water Right Forfeiture Periods, Statutes, and the Programs That Protect You
Every western state can take back a water right that sits unused, but they disagree by a factor of three on how long that takes and by even more on what counts as an excuse. An owner in North Dakota has three years; an owner in Texas has ten; an owner in Colorado never faces a fixed clock at all, only a presumption a court can weigh.
This is the reference table: the period, the statute that sets it, the program that protects a right that is not being used, and the official database where you can confirm what you hold. Every citation was verified against the legislature’s own text or a legal publisher on September 1, 2026; the two cells that rest on an agency summary say so.
Is your water right protected and working for you?
Two questions. We flag the legal exposure, if any, and the paying fix.
How is the right being used today?
Use is what the forfeiture clock measures.
The forfeiture table
"Forfeiture" is loss for non-use alone; "abandonment" additionally requires intent to give the right up. Several states use one word for the other, so the table records what the statute actually does, not what it is called.
| State | Period of non-use | Statute | What stops or excuses the clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 5 successive years | A.R.S. § 45-141(C) | Underground storage for future use, exchanges, and use under a filed conservation plan (§ 45-141(D) to (F)) |
| California | 5 years, after a Board finding and notice | Water Code § 1241 | Conservation-driven reductions are deemed beneficial use with no forfeiture (§ 1011) |
| Colorado | No fixed forfeiture; 10 years of non-use raises a rebuttable presumption of abandonment (intent required) | C.R.S. § 37-92-402(11); § 37-92-103(2) | Approved conservation, fallowing, water banking, and CWCB instream programs do not show intent to abandon (§ 37-92-103(2)(b)) |
| Idaho | 5 years | Idaho Code § 42-222(2) | Water Supply Bank deposits are not subject to forfeiture (§ 42-1764); good-cause extension up to 5 more years (§ 42-222(3)); twelve statutory exceptions (§ 42-223) |
| Kansas | 5 successive years without due and sufficient cause | K.S.A. 82a-718 | Water Rights Conservation Program (K.S.A. 82a-741); rights in aquifers closed to new appropriation cannot be deemed abandoned |
| Montana | 10 successive years with water available raises a prima facie presumption of abandonment | MCA § 85-2-404 | Water leasing (§ 85-2-436), temporary changes (§§ 85-2-407, 85-2-408), and conservation set-asides |
| Nebraska | More than 5 consecutive years (cancellation) | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-229.02 | Sufficient-cause list in § 46-229.04: unavailability of water (up to 30 years), storage shortage, and up to 15 years for regulation, climate, husbandry, facility loss, service, or litigation |
| Nevada | Groundwater: 5 successive years. Surface water: not forfeited for non-use; abandonment only, with a 10-year evidentiary presumption against it | NRS 534.090 (groundwater); NRS 533.060(2), (4) (surface) | Extensions of time for good cause, one year each (three in over-appropriated basins), with no limit on the number |
| New Mexico | 4 years of non-use, then reversion if non-use continues one year after State Engineer notice (surface water) | NMSA 1978 § 72-5-28 (statute text confirmed via legal publisher) | Periods under a State Engineer-approved conservation program are not counted; circumstances beyond the owner’s control |
| North Dakota | 3 successive years (cancellation) | N.D.C.C. §§ 61-04-23, 61-04-24 | Unavailability of water, justifiable inability to complete works, other good and sufficient cause; municipal future needs qualify |
| Oklahoma | 7 continuous years (stream water) | 82 O.S. § 105.17(B); cancellation § 105.18 | Circumstances beyond the claimant’s control where the claimant is ready and willing to use (§ 105.18(C)) |
| Oregon | 5 successive years (rebuttable presumption) | ORS 540.610(1) | Instream leases under ORS 537.348 and thirteen other listed causes, including municipal use, economic hardship, CRP, unavailability, and pending transfers (§ 540.610(2)) |
| South Dakota | 3 years (per DANR summary of SDCL 46-5-37; hearing required before cancellation, 46-5-37.1) | SDCL 46-5-37 | Legal excuse such as lack of water |
| Texas | 10 years of non-use (cancellation) | Tex. Water Code § 11.172 | Surface rights deposited in the Texas Water Bank are protected from cancellation for 10 years (31 TAC § 359.8(a)); exceptions in § 11.173 include CRP, regional-plan use, long-term supply needs, conservation plans, and drought |
| Utah | At least 7 years; a court action must begin within 15 | Utah Code § 73-1-4 | Nonuse application (up to 7 years, renewable, time excluded); leases, approved fallowing, aquifer storage, and water banking under Title 73 Chapter 31 |
| Washington | 5 or more consecutive years without sufficient cause (relinquishment) | RCW 90.14.140 | Trust water rights under chapters 90.38 and 90.42 are exempt; sufficient-cause list includes drought, leases to agencies, federal programs, and pending changes; standby, municipal, and 15-year development rights are exempt |
| Wyoming | 5 successive years, intentional or not (statutory abandonment) | W.S. § 41-3-401(a) | Board of Control extension up to 5 years for storage rights and dam repair; a season with a total absence of water is not counted |
Where to look up your right
Each state runs a public water rights database, and it is the system of record for what you hold. Search under every name the land has had, and pull the underlying decree, permit, or certificate rather than stopping at the index screen. These links were checked on September 1, 2026; two are noted where automated access is limited.
| State | Database | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | ADWR Surface Water Queries (blocks automated access; open in a browser) | azwater.gov/surface-water-queries |
| California | CalWATRS (California Water Accounting, Tracking, and Reporting System) | calwatrs.waterboards.ca.gov/portal/s |
| Colorado | DWR Water Rights Net Amounts | dwr.state.co.us/Tools/WaterRights/NetAmounts |
| Idaho | IDWR Water Rights and Adjudication Search | research.idwr.idaho.gov/apps/waterrights/wrajsearch/wradjsearch.aspx |
| Kansas | WIMAS (Water Information Management and Analysis System) | geohydro.kgs.ku.edu/geohydro/wimas/index.cfm |
| Montana | DNRC Water Rights Query System (WRQS) | gis.dnrc.mt.gov/apps/WRQS |
| Nebraska | NeDNR Surface Water Rights Search | nednr.nebraska.gov/dynamic/WaterRights/WaterRights/SurfaceWaterRightsSearchIndex |
| Nevada | NDWR Permit Search | tools.water.nv.gov/PermitSearch.aspx |
| New Mexico | NMWRRS (New Mexico Water Rights Reporting System) | nmwrrs.ose.nm.gov/nmwrrs/index |
| North Dakota | Department of Water Resources Water Permits Database | swc.nd.gov/info_edu/map_data_resources/waterpermits |
| Oklahoma | OWRB Public Search | owrb.ok.gov/wd/search/public_search.php |
| Oregon | OWRD Water Rights Information Query (WRIS) | apps.wrd.state.or.us/apps/wr/wrinfo |
| South Dakota | DANR Search for South Dakota Water Rights | danr.sd.gov/OfficeOfWater/WaterRights/Databases/WaterRights.aspx |
| Texas | TCEQ Water Rights and Water Use Data | tceq.texas.gov/permitting/water_rights/wr-permitting/wrwud |
| Utah | Division of Water Rights Records Search | waterrights.utah.gov/wrinfo/query.asp |
| Washington | Ecology Water Rights Tracking System (WRTS) | appswr.ecology.wa.gov/waterrighttrackingsystem |
| Wyoming | SEO e-Permit (portal; public search inside) | seoweb.wyo.gov/e-Permit |
Three states that break the pattern
Colorado and Montana do not forfeit; they presume. Ten years of non-use creates a presumption of abandonment that the owner can rebut by showing no intent to give the right up, and both states list programs (conservation, fallowing, banking, leasing) whose use is not evidence of intent. The practical effect is more forgiving than a five-year forfeiture, but a right unused for a decade with no program filing is a hard case to win.
Nevada splits by source. Surface water rights are expressly not lost for non-use under NRS 533.060(2); groundwater rights forfeit after five successive years under NRS 534.090. An owner with both must track them separately.
Texas is the most patient at ten years, and it pairs that with a bank: surface rights deposited in the Texas Water Bank are protected from cancellation for ten years under the TWDB’s rules, which effectively lets an owner reset the clock by depositing.
The programs that stop the clock, ranked by how explicit they are
Not every protection is equally certain. In rough order of statutory clarity:
- Explicit non-forfeiture by statute: Idaho’s Water Supply Bank (§ 42-1764 says banked rights are not subject to forfeiture and the clock restarts on removal); Washington trust water (exempt under RCW 90.14.140(2)); California conservation (§ 1011: no forfeiture); Texas Water Bank deposits (10-year protection).
- Listed as sufficient cause or excluded time: Oregon instream leases, Utah nonuse applications and banking, New Mexico approved conservation programs, Kansas’ Water Rights Conservation Program.
- Listed as not showing intent to abandon: Colorado’s conservation, fallowing, and banking programs; Montana leasing and temporary changes.
- Discretionary extensions: Nevada (one year at a time, unlimited), Idaho good-cause extensions, Wyoming Board of Control extensions for storage.
What this means for an owner
Find your state in the first table and count back from the last season the right was actually used. If you are inside the period, you have time to lease, bank, or file. If you are past it, you are exposed but usually not yet lost; talk to a water lawyer before anyone else notices.
Then confirm what you hold in the second table before pricing anything. The record is public, the search is free, and the number of owners who discover a right under a grandparent’s name, or discover that a right they assumed was theirs was severed in an old sale, is large enough that we run a records check before every valuation.
How WaterLeases helps
We run the first steps for you: a records check on what you hold and a confidential valuation bracketed against sourced comparables and real demand in your basin. Then you decide, lease, bank, sell, or wait, with the numbers in hand.
Article Sources
WaterLeases requires every market figure to trace to a public primary source: state agencies, published indices, official notices, or named reporting. Read our data and methodology standards.
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 45-141 (forfeiture after five successive years; storage, exchange, and conservation exceptions).
- California Water Code § 1241 (reversion after five years of non-use).
- California Water Code § 1011 (conservation deemed beneficial use; no forfeiture).
- Colorado Revised Statutes § 37-92-402 (abandonment presumption after ten years).
- Colorado Revised Statutes § 37-92-103 (definition of abandonment; programs not evidencing intent).
- Idaho Code § 42-222 (forfeiture after five years; good-cause extension).
- Idaho Code § 42-223 (exceptions to forfeiture).
- Idaho Code § 42-1764 (banked rights not subject to forfeiture).
- Kansas Statutes § 82a-718 (abandonment after five successive years without due and sufficient cause).
- Kansas Water Banking Act, K.S.A. 82a-761 et seq.
- Montana Code Annotated § 85-2-404 (abandonment presumption after ten successive years).
- Nebraska Revised Statutes § 46-229.02 (cancellation after more than five consecutive years).
- Nebraska Revised Statutes § 46-229.04 (sufficient cause).
- Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 534 (groundwater; § 534.090 forfeiture after five successive years).
- Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 533 (surface water; § 533.060 no forfeiture for non-use).
- New Mexico Statutes § 72-5-28 (four years of non-use; reversion after notice), via FindLaw.
- North Dakota Century Code chapter 61-04 (§§ 61-04-23, 61-04-24: cancellation after three successive years).
- Oklahoma Statutes title 82 (§ 105.17(B) forfeiture after seven continuous years; § 105.18 cancellation).
- Oregon Revised Statutes § 540.610 (forfeiture after five successive years; exceptions).
- South Dakota DANR, Water Rights Program legal summary (three-year non-use rule, SDCL 46-5-37).
- Texas Water Code § 11.172 (cancellation after ten years of non-use).
- Texas Water Code § 11.173 (exceptions to cancellation).
- Texas Water Development Board. Texas Water Bank (deposited rights protected from cancellation for ten years).
- Utah Code § 73-1-4 (forfeiture after at least seven years; nonuse applications; banking).
- Revised Code of Washington § 90.14.140 (relinquishment after five consecutive years; sufficient cause; exemptions).
- Wyoming Statutes title 41 (§ 41-3-401 abandonment after five successive years).