43 U.S.C. § 372
Section 372 · Water right as appurtenant to land and extent of right
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 64 court decisions — leading case Ivanhoe Irrigation District v. McCracken (1958)
Most recently applied in City of Fresno v. United States (December 2024)
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.
The right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of this Act shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated, and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This Act, referred to in text, is act June 17, 1902, popularly known as the Reclamation Act, which is classified generally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 371 of this title and Tables.
Codification
Section is comprised of the proviso in section 8 of act June 17, 1902. Remainder of section 8 is classified to section 383 of this title.
Section as Unaffected by Submerged Lands Act
Provisions of this section as not amended, modified or repealed by the Submerged Lands Act, see section 1303 of this title.
Cross References
Grand Teton National Park, withdrawn lands within exterior boundary, use for reclamation purposes, see section 406d–5 of Title 16, Conservation.
Reclamation law defined, see section 371 of this title.