Vested rights and appropriation rights
Kansas rights fall on either side of June 28, 1945, the date of the Water Appropriation Act. A vested right covers water put to beneficial use on or before that date, including domestic use, up to the largest amount used.
Every other right is an appropriation right, approved by the chief engineer of the Division of Water Resources. It allows a set rate and quantity from a specific source, but only after all vested rights and older appropriation rights on that source are satisfied.
Domestic use
K.S.A. 82a-705 requires the chief engineer's approval for any new right except domestic use. Domestic use covers household purposes, watering farm livestock and poultry, and irrigating up to two acres of gardens, orchards and lawns.
A domestic user may still apply for a permit like anyone else. Beneficial domestic use started after June 28, 1945 counts as an appropriation right in its own right.
Rights follow the land, unless severed
Under K.S.A. 82a-701, a water right is real property tied to the land where the water is used. It passes with that land by deed, lease, mortgage, will or inheritance. It can also be severed and moved, but changing a place of use or point of diversion requires an application to the chief engineer.
Five years of nonuse
K.S.A. 82a-718 treats a right as abandoned after five successive years with no lawful, beneficial use and no due and sufficient cause. The chief engineer must hold a hearing first. Once three straight years show no reported use, the owner receives a certified-mail warning listing the excuses that count.
There are exceptions. Rights enrolled and in compliance with the state's water rights conservation program, and groundwater rights in aquifer areas closed to new appropriations, are treated as having cause for nonuse.
Checking a right in WIMAS
WIMAS, the Water Information Management and Analysis System, is run jointly by the Kansas Geological Survey and the Division of Water Resources. Its data are refreshed weekly. It shows each right's status, from pending application through permit, proof of completion and certificate, or dismissal.
WIMAS can't tell you whether a right has been used lawfully, and its data may not be used to market property or services. For a right's current standing before a purchase, ask the Division of Water Resources directly.