South Dakota water rights

10,572 rights at 10,572 points of diversion in 66 counties · fetched October 8, 2026 from South Dakota DANR, Water Rights Program

Open South Dakota on the mapHow South Dakota water rights work
Groundwater
6,439
Surface water
4,133

South Dakota at a glance

Doctrine
Prior appropriation
Decision-maker
Water Management Board, with the chief engineer
Domestic use
No permit; generally up to 25,920 gallons a day or 25 gpm peak
Vested rights
Uses predating March 2, 1955
Nonuse
Water must be used at least once every three years
Irrigation rights
Pass with title to the land

Counties

Counties come from where each right's first point of diversion falls on Census county lines.

Oldest priority dates in South Dakota

Seniority is weighed among rights on the same stream system, so this is where the oldest records are rather than a statewide ranking.

Priority date · senior to junior

  • Before 1880
  • 1880–1899
  • 1900–1919
  • 1920–1949
  • 1950–1972
  • 1973–1999
  • 2000 and later
  • No priority date