As between appropriators, the one first in time is first in right.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-203
First appropriators; declared first in right
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Hitchcock & Red Willow Irrigation District v. Lower Platte North Natural Resources District (1987)
Most recently applied in In re Application A-18503 (October 2013)
Laws 1889, c. 68, § 7, p. 504; R.S.1913, § 3371; Laws 1919, c. 190, tit
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. 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.
Official source: Nebraska Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Nebraska statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.