Revisions to Water Management Regulations
2026 Proposed Changes to Water Regulations
In May and June 2026, the Department of Natural Resources published proposed changes to the water managment regulations implementing AS 46.15.145 Reservations of water: 11 AAC 93.142 (Content of application), 11 AAC 93.146 (Issuance of a certificate of reservation of water), and 11 AAC 93.147 (Review of a reservation of water). The proposed changes were detailed on the Alaska Online Public Notice System on May 29, 2026, with a request for public comment.
The proposed regulations update is detailed in an attachment to the OPN Notice.
During the public comment period, the Department responded to the following questions submitted by members of the public.
The public comment period has ended and the Department is now reviewing the public comments received (copies of which are provided below for public review) and evaluating whether to adopt regulation changes.
The Department's decision on the adoption of any regulation changes will be published on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, as required by the Administrative Procedures Act. Members of the public can sign up to receive State of Alaska public notices via email by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notice System.
To receive email notifications and updates on these proposed changes to water regulations from the Alaska Division of Mining, Land and Water, submit a request via email to dmlwprogramsupport@alaska.gov and provide your name and email address.
2024 Scoping Period
In 2024, the Department conducted a scoping process to ask the public for their ideas and suggestions before the Department undertakes the task of drafting any specific proposed regulations for public review. The scoping period ran from August 1 to November 29, 2024, and was extended twice at the request of interested parties.
The scoping notices and scoping comments can be viewed at the following links.
View the First Scoping Notice on the Alaska Online Public Notice System View the Supplemental Notice on the Alaska Online Public Notice System View the Second Supplemental Notice on the Alaska Online Public Notice System Comments (A-H) (Redacted) PDF Comments (I-P) (Redacted) PDF Comments (Q-Z) (Redacted) PDF
Public Meeting
DNR hosted a public meeting on August 12, 2024, from 4:30-6:30 pm at the Atwood Conference Center Room 102/104 in Anchorage (Robert B. Atwood Building, 550 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501).
The meeting included a brief presentation by the Department followed by a question-and-response session with the public and an opportunity for participants to submit feedback.
| Date | August 12, 2024 |
| Time | 4:30 - 6:30 PM |
| Location |
Atwood Conference Center Room 102/104 Robert B. Atwood Building 550 West 7th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501 |
| Downloads | View or download meeting recordings or presentation: Meeting Video YouTube Meeting Audio MP3 Meeting Presentation PDF |
Background Information
Photo credit: DMLW
In January 2021, the Department publicly noticed proposed changes to a variety of water management regulations in 11 AAC 93. The Department received numerous comments on regulations concerning reservation of water and decided to advance only the administrative changes (adopted in June 2024). The public can view these newly adopted regulations on the Alaska Online Public Notice system.
The 2024 scoping notice picked up where we left off and looks specifically at reservations of water. The current reservation of water regulations are available on the Alaska Legislature's BASIS.
2021 Public Notice
Phase One Regulations - Complete
Contact
Natural Resource Manager
550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1070
Anchorage, AK 99501-3579
907-269-8645
Email: dnr.water.regulation@alaska.gov
Natural Resource Specialist
550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1070
Anchorage, AK 99501-3579
907-269-2033
Email: dnr.water.regulation@alaska.gov