Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage
Abstract
Alaska’s state constitution defines water as a public resource, but
no one has automatic rights to use water.1 The constitution and
Alaska law allow the state government to decide who can use
water, how much they can use, and for what. That’s true on both private
and public land, and for all landowners —government agencies, businesses,
and individual Alaskans.
Anyone who plans to use a significant amount of water needs to get
water rights, which are legal rights to specific amounts of water, from
specific sources, for specific purposes.2 The Alaska Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) processes water-rights applications and decides
whether to issue water-right permits and certificates.
And anyone who gets water rights has priority over those who apply
later, if other proposed uses would conflict with theirs.3Ecotrust, Inc
