Nevada Revised Statutes
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.045 (2026)
Right to divert ceases when necessity for use does not exist
✓ current as of July 2026
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NRS 533.045 Right to divert ceases when necessity for use does not exist. When the necessity for the use of water does
not exist, the right to divert it ceases, and no person shall be permitted to
divert or use the waters of this State except at such times as the water is
required for a beneficial purpose.
[5:140:1913; 1919 RL p. 3226; NCL § 7894]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1996–2025 · leading case: Bacher v. Off. of the State Eng'r, 146 P.3d 793 (Nev. 2006).
Bacher v. Off. of the State Eng'r, 146 P.3d 793 (Nev. 2006). “See also NRS 533.045 (“[N]o person shall be permitted to divert or use .”
United States v. State Eng'r, 27 P.3d 51 (Nev. 2001). “035; and NRS 533.045. There are two classes of surface water rights by appropriation in Nevada: (1) vested rights, which were initiated during the early days of the state's development before any definite laws concerning appropriation of water existed; and (2) appropriation…”
United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co., 27 F. Supp. 2d 1230 (D. Nev. 1998). “Accordingly, the type of knowledge required is not one of legal ownership, but of a right to the use of the water. There is an absence of evidence in the record to indicate that the Project farmers did not know that the contract gave them the right to use the water beneficially…”
United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co., 919 F. Supp. 1470 (D. Nev. 1996). “§ 533.045. This principle is stated in the Alpine Final Decree: The quantities of water to be diverted by the owners of the several ditches, through those ditches, on account of the several priorities herein allowed, are allowed subject to the obligations of said owners to *1477…”
Diamond Nat. Res. Prot. & Conservation Ass'n v. Diamond Valley Ranch, LLC, 2022 NV 43 (Nev. 2022). “" NRS 533.045. "Accordingly, beneficial use underpins Nevada's water statutes, and the Legislature has continued to delineate and expand on which uses are considered public uses in Nevada.”
Mountain Falls Acquisition Corp. v. State (Nev. 2019). “; see also NRS 533.045 ("no person shall be permitted to divert or use the waters of this State except at such times as the water is required for a beneficial purpose.”
Mountain Falls Acquisition Corp. v. State (Nev. 2019). “; see also NRS 533.045 ("no person shall be permitted to divert or use the waters of this State except at such times as the water is required for a beneficial purpose.”
Mineral Co. Vs. Lyon Co. (nrap 5), 2020 NV 58 (Nev. 2020). “See NRS 533.045 ("When the necessity for the use of water does not exist, the right to divert it ceases, and no person shall be permitted to divert or use the waters of this State except at such times as the water is required for a beneficial purpose.”
Virgin Valley Water Dist. v. Paradise Canyon, LLC, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 19 (Nev. 2025). “Water rights cease if they are no longer needed for a beneficial purpose, NRS 533.045, and a portion of water rights may be canceled when a permittee needs and uses less than the amount of water appropriated.”
Virgin Valley Water Dist. v. Paradise Canyon, LLC, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 19 (Nev. 2025). “Water rights cease if they are no longer needed for a beneficial purpose, NRS 533.045, and a portion of water rights may be canceled when a permittee needs and uses less than the amount of water appropriated.”
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