25 U.S.C. § 381
Section 381 · Irrigation lands; regulation of use of water
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case United States v. Ahtanum Irrigation District (1956)
Most recently applied in In Re the Crow Water Compact (July 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In cases where the use of water for irrigation is necessary to render the lands within any Indian reservation available for agricultural purposes, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to secure a just and equal distribution thereof among the Indians residing upon any such reservations; and no other appropriation or grant of water by any riparian proprietor shall be authorized or permitted to the damage of any other riparian proprietor.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Cross References
Cancellation of trust patents within power or reservoir sites, see section 352 of this title.
Irrigation projects under Reclamation Act to be carried on under such arrangements and agreements as Secretary of Interior deems for best interests of the Indians, see section 382 of this title.