The right to divert unappropriated waters of every natural stream for beneficial use shall never be denied except when such denial is demanded by the public interest. Priority of appropriation shall give the better right as between those using the water for the same purposes, but when the waters of any natural stream are not sufficient for the use of all those desiring the use of the same, those using the water for domestic purposes shall have the preference over those claiming it for any other purpose, and those using the water for agricultural purposes shall have the preference over those using the same for manufacturing purposes.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-204
Natural streams; priority of appropriations; first in time, first in right; preference from nature of use
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case Hitchcock & Red Willow Irrigation District v. Lower Platte North Natural Resources District (1987)
Most recently applied in In re Appropriation A-7603 (August 2015)
Laws 1895, c. 69, § 43, p. 260; R.S.1913, § 3372; 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.