Reservation of Water

A reservation of water is a water right that protects specific flow or lake level use, such as fish spawning or recreation. It sets aside the water necessary for these activities and prevents later water users from appropriating water that may affect the instream or lake activity.

Water can be reserved for one of four (or more) purposes, as described in AS 46.15.145 (a) on a stream reach/point or lake level during a certain period of time. These instream flow or lake level purposes are:

• Protection of fish and wildlife habitat, migration, and propagation
• Recreation and parks
• Navigation and transportation
• Sanitation and water quality

Like an out-of-stream water right, a reservation of water is similar to a property right. It cannot be abandoned, transferred, assigned, or converted to another use without approval of the Department of Natural Resources, through the review process laid out in AS 46.15.145 (f).

Private individuals, organizations, and government agencies may apply for a reservation of water.

You should apply if you want to ensure that a lake level or stream flow will be available when and where you and the public need.

If you have a senior instream or lake level water right, you have priority use of that water over people who file later for water rights. You will have legal standing in circumstances of conflicting uses of water by people without water rights.

You can download the Application for a Reservation of Water Form ^PDF or you can get an application at any Department of Natural Resources,  Water Resources Section office.

Your application should include information to support your reservation request. The type of information that would be appropriate will vary based on the purpose of the reservation.

Before submitting an application, you should speak with the program staff about the information needed in your application.

When your application is considered complete, it will be reviewed to determine the impact on other water right holders and the public interest. An assessment will be made to determine if water is available for the reservation and if the information in the application is accurate and acceptable. Public notice of the application must be given.

After this process, a Certificate of Reservation may be issued to you. A Certificate of Reservation must be reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources every ten years, but may be reviewed in less than ten years if necessary.

A filing fee of $1,500 (for the first 60 hours of staff time) must accompany an application for reservation of water. Depending on different variables, additional fees can accrue if staff time goes beyond 60 hours. Advertisement of the proposed reservation to notify agencies and the public, may be required. If a certificate is issued, you may be required to install and maintain stream gages, weirs, or staff gages, and to monitor and report on the reserved instream flow or level of water. You may also be responsible for additional data collection or analysis during the certificate review.