Appropriation of waters on public lands; rights of way for canals and ditches
United States Code
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★Highly CitedTop 2% most-cited · cited by 75 decisions
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Courts citing this statute
Most recently cited by10
- 2025RUSSELL AND ELIZABETH REID FAMILY TRUST v. United States Fed. Cl.
- 2025Purgatory Recreation I v. United States 10th Cir.
- 2024Hansen v. United States D. Idaho
- 2024White Cloud Ranch LLC v. United States D. Idaho
- 2024Humphreys Family Limited Partnership v. United States D. Idaho
- 2024Mizer v. United States D. Idaho
- 2023Christianson v. United States D. Idaho
- 2023USA For Jemez, Santa v. Abousleman D.N.M.
- 2022Ahtna, Inc. v. State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities v. AHTNA, Inc., State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities v. Ahtna, Inc. Alaska
- 2022Shupe v. United States of America D. Idaho
Counts reflect decisions in the CiteLaw corpus and may lag very recent opinions.
Text
Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes, have vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions of courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same; and the right of way for the construction of ditches and canals for the purposes herein specified is acknowledged and confirmed; but whenever any person, in the construction of any ditch or canal, injures or damages the possession of any settler on the public domain, the party committing such injury or damage shall be liable to the party injured for such injury or damage. All patents granted, or preemption or homesteads allowed, shall be subject to any vested and accrued water rights, or rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights, as may have been acquired under or recognized by this section. (Source: (R.S. §§ 2339, 2340.))