United States State Laws Relating to Protection of Instream Flows for Environmental Purposes

The following literature was put together as part of the CAMEO Project: Building the Foundation-An Integrative Approach to Managing the Dewatering Estuaries. Please note the following information is current as of 2010 and the legislation and statutes may have since changed.   

States with no flow laws or statutes, and do not require a permit for water allocation:

Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

States with some instream flow requirements, i.e., water permits:

Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

States with specific instream flow statutes:

Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Texas.