HB21-1046 Summary

• Mutual ditch corporations delivering direct flow water rights may provide water only to stockholders who request it, including those with approved changes in water use.

• Water corporations may deliver water at rates of flow greater or less than each stockholder's pro-rata ownership share based on individual requests and available supply.

• When total demand exceeds available water supply, corporations must provide pro-rata water amounts to all requesting stockholders either simultaneously or through rotation among sections using equitable methods.

• Water diverted and delivered by the corporation only counts against a changed stockholder's volumetric limits if the stockholder or its lessee takes delivery according to the change-in-use decree.

• The bill does not supersede existing water court decrees, affect water court approval standards, impede stockholder water right modifications, or restrict stockholder participation in water acquisition programs.