Sec 45-257. Hearings; report of master; final judgment by court; administration and enforcement of decree

A. The master shall:

1. After due notice, conduct such hearings and take such testimony as shall be necessary to determine the relative water rights of each claimant.

2. For all determinations, recommendations, findings of fact or conclusions of law issued, prepare and file with the court a report in accordance with rule 53(g) of the Arizona rules of civil procedure, which shall contain those determinations, recommendations, findings of fact and conclusions of law. Each claimant may file written objections with the court to any rule 53(g) report within the later of sixty days after the report is filed with the court or within sixty days after the effective date of this amendment to this section. If the report covers an entire subwatershed or federal reservation, each claimant may file with the court written objections to the report within one hundred eighty days of the date on which the report was filed with the court.

3. Maintain under his control all records and documents at such locations as may be designated by the court.

B. The court, upon review of the report and in accordance with rule 53 of the Arizona rules of civil procedure, shall:

1. Determine the extent and priority date of and adjudicate any interest in or right to use the water of the river system and source, provided that when rights to the use of water or dates of appropriation have previously been determined in a prior decree of a court, the court shall accept the determination of such rights and dates of appropriation as found in the prior decree unless such rights have been abandoned. Except if otherwise provided in an applicable prior filing, certificate of water right or prior decree, the decreed capacity of a reservoir includes the right to continuous filling and refilling in priority throughout the year.

2. Establish, in whatever form determined to be most appropriate by the court, one or more tabulations or lists of all water rights and their relative priorities on the river system and source.

3. Identify all claims and uses determined to be de minimis uses within the river system and source as prescribed by section 45-258.

4. Refer the final judgment or decree to the director for administration and enforcement under the continuing jurisdiction of the court.

5. Make appropriate orders to ensure that the entire record of the general adjudication is preserved in an accessible and usable form.

6. Record a certified copy of the final judgment or decree in each county within the geographical scope of the general adjudication which shall constitute constructive notice of the contents of the judgment or decree.

C. Claimants may enter into agreements regarding the attributes, satisfaction or enforcement of their water rights in relation to each other. An agreement shall be binding only among the parties to that agreement. On request of all parties to the agreement, an agreement shall be incorporated by reference into the final judgment or decree without modification. Any modification to an agreement is valid only if agreed to by all parties to the agreement and is binding only among the parties to that agreement.

D. If ownership of a right to use water for stock watering or stockpond purposes or for domestic use on a ranch or farm on state land is disputed in a general adjudication of the rights to use the waters of a river system and source, the water right shall be adjudicated in the name of a claimant other than the state if both of the following apply:

1. The point of diversion and the place of use, or the perfection of the water right by the appropriator comply with section 37-321.01, subsection A.

2. The state land commissioner has been afforded the opportunity to resolve the claim.

E. In the event that the state and a private claimant that claims ownership of the water right under subsection D of this section dispute the ownership of the right to use water on state land, the evidentiary presumptions of section 45-261 shall not apply to the resolution of the dispute. Following the determination of ownership by the master or court, the evidentiary presumptions of section 45-261 shall apply to the determination of the remaining attributes of the water right.

F. If ownership of a right to use water on land owned by the United States is disputed in a general adjudication of the rights to use the waters of a river system and source, that water right shall be adjudicated in accordance with section 45-151, subsections E and F.