46-1-2. Development of water resources for public benefit.
It is hereby declared that the protection of the public interest in the development of the water resources of the state is of vital concern to the people of the state and that the state shall determine in what way the water of the state, both surface and underground, should be developed for the greatest public benefit.
Source: SL 1955, ch 430, §1; SDC Supp 1960, §61.0101 (4); SL 1972, ch 237, §1; SL 1978, ch 323, §1.