In an age of increasing demand and decreasing supply, obtaining and protecting valid water rights is essential for ranchers, agribusiness, energy companies, and private landowners. Equally important is understanding the attributes of those rights, including their authorized points of diversion, places of use, and types of use, as well as their volume or flow limitations. In Utah, the process for identifying and confirming valid water rights and their attributes is known as a general adjudication of water rights. The State Engineer conducts general adjudications following a series of steps set forth by statute. An adjudication is a judicial process—at its conclusion, the valid water rights in a specific area are finally determined and decreed by a court.

Click here to access the practical guide to Utah’s Water Rights Adjudication Process.