NRS 533.085

Vested rights to water not impaired

Applied in 13 court decisions — leading case United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co. (1980)

Most recently applied in 141 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 36 - SULLIVAN, P.E. v. BAKER RANCHES, INC. (August 2025)

[84:140:1913; 1919 RL p. 3247; NCL § 7970]

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

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.

1. Nothing contained in this chapter shall impair the vested right of any person to the use of water, nor shall the right of any person to take and use water be impaired or affected by any of the provisions of this chapter where appropriations have been initiated in accordance with law prior to March 22, 1913.

2. Any and all appropriations based upon applications and permits on file in the Office of the State Engineer on March 22, 1913, shall be perfected in accordance with the laws in force at the time of their filing.

Official source: Nevada Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Nevada statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.