Alaska DNR Subsurface Water Rights

A water right is a legal right to use surface or ground water under the Alaska Water Use Act (AS 46.15). A water right allows a specific amount of water from a specific water source to be diverted, impounded, or withdrawn for a specific use. When a water right is granted, it becomes appurtenant to the land where the water is being used for as long as the water is used. If the land is sold, the water right transfers with the land to the new owner, unless the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approves its separation from the land. In Alaska, because water wherever it naturally occurs is a common property resource, landowners do not have automatic rights to ground water or surface water. For example, if a farmer has a creek running through his property, he will need a water right to authorize his use of a significant amount of water. Using water without a permit or certificate does not give the user a legal right to use the water. This shape file characterizes the geographic representation of land parcels within the State of Alaska contained by the Subsurface Water Rights category. It has been extracted from data sets used to produce the State status plats. This data set includes cases noted on the digital status plats up to one day prior to data extraction. Each feature has an associated attribute record, including a Land Administration System (LAS) file-type and file-number which serves as an index to related LAS case-file information. Additional LAS case-file and customer information may be obtained at: http://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/ Those requiring more information regarding State land records should contact the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Public Information Center directly.

Data and Resources

Field Value
access_constraints ["Use Constraints: Any hardcopies or published datasets utilizing these data sets shall clearly indicate their source. If the user has modified the data in any way they are obligated to describe the types of modifications they have performed. User specifically agrees not to misrepresent these data sets, nor to imply that changes they made were approved by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.", "Access Constraints: none"]
bbox-east-long 180.000000
bbox-north-lat 76.786209
bbox-south-lat 42.509212
bbox-west-long -180.000000
contact-email dnr.gispub@alaska.gov
coupled-resource []
dataset-reference-date [{"type": "publication", "value": "2006-02-23"}]
frequency-of-update daily
licence ["\nThe State of Alaska makes no express or implied warranties (including warranties of merchantability\nand fitness) with respect to the character, function, or capabilities of the electronic services\nor products or their appropriateness for any users purposes. In no event will the State of Alaska\nbe liable for any incidental, indirect, special, consequential or other damages suffered by the\nuser or any other person or entity whether from the use of the electronic services or products,\nany failure thereof or otherwise, and in no event will the State of Alaska s liability to the\nrequestor or anyone else exceed the fee paid for the electronic service or product.\n"]
metadata-date 2008-02-04
metadata-language eng; USA
metadata_type geospatial
progress completed
resource-type dataset
responsible-party [{"name": "AK Department of Natural Resources - Information Resource Management", "roles": ["pointOfContact"]}]
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, 42.509212], [180.0, 42.509212], [180.0, 76.786209], [-180.0, 76.786209], [-180.0, 42.509212]]]}
spatial_harvester true
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • alaska
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • ckan
  • diversion
  • geo
  • geoss
  • land-record
  • national
  • north-america
  • subsurface
  • united-states
  • water-right
isopen False
metadata_created 2025-11-22T04:19:21.309293
metadata_modified 2025-11-22T04:19:21.309298
notes A water right is a legal right to use surface or ground water under the Alaska Water Use Act (AS 46.15). A water right allows a specific amount of water from a specific water source to be diverted, impounded, or withdrawn for a specific use. When a water right is granted, it becomes appurtenant to the land where the water is being used for as long as the water is used. If the land is sold, the water right transfers with the land to the new owner, unless the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approves its separation from the land. In Alaska, because water wherever it naturally occurs is a common property resource, landowners do not have automatic rights to ground water or surface water. For example, if a farmer has a creek running through his property, he will need a water right to authorize his use of a significant amount of water. Using water without a permit or certificate does not give the user a legal right to use the water. This shape file characterizes the geographic representation of land parcels within the State of Alaska contained by the Subsurface Water Rights category. It has been extracted from data sets used to produce the State status plats. This data set includes cases noted on the digital status plats up to one day prior to data extraction. Each feature has an associated attribute record, including a Land Administration System (LAS) file-type and file-number which serves as an index to related LAS case-file information. Additional LAS case-file and customer information may be obtained at: http://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/ Those requiring more information regarding State land records should contact the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Public Information Center directly.
num_resources 2
num_tags 13
title Alaska DNR Subsurface Water Rights