Nev. Rev. Stat. » NRS: CHAPTER 533 - ADJUDICATION OF VESTED WATER RIGHTS; APPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC WATERS
Nevada Revised Statutes

Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090 (2026)

Determination of relative rights of claimants to water of stream or stream system: Petition; order of State Engineer

✓ current as of July 2026
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NRS 533.090  Determination of relative rights of claimants to water of stream or stream system: Petition; order of State Engineer.

      1.  Upon a petition to the State Engineer, signed by one or more water users of any stream or stream system, requesting the determination of the relative rights of the various claimants to the waters thereof, the State Engineer shall, if upon investigation the State Engineer finds the facts and conditions justify it, enter an order granting the petition and shall make proper arrangements to proceed with such determination.

      2.  The State Engineer shall, in the absence of such a petition requesting a determination of relative rights, enter an order for the determination of the relative rights to the use of water of any stream selected by the State Engineer. As soon as practicable after the order is made and entered, the State Engineer shall proceed with such determination as provided in this chapter.

      3.  A water user upon or from any stream or body of water shall be held and deemed to be a water user upon the stream system of which such stream or body of water is a part or tributary.

      [18:140:1913; 1919 RL p. 3227; NCL § 7905]—(NRS A 2017, 706)

     

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1961–2022 · leading case: G. & M. Props. v. Second Jud. Dist. Court, 594 P.2d 714 (Nev. 1979).
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G. & M. Props. v. Second Jud. Dist. Court, 594 P.2d 714 (Nev. 1979). · cites it 2× “Following the filing of a petition in the office of the state engineer requesting a determination of the rights of the various claimants to the above mentioned waters, the petition was granted, and the state engineer filed his preliminary order of determination pursuant to NRS…”
Mineral Cnty. v. Walker River Irrigation Dist., 900 F.3d 1027 (9th Cir. 2018). “" See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090 et seq. (entitled "Adjudication of Vested Water Rights").”
Franktown Creek Irrigation Co. v. Marlette Lake Co., 364 P.2d 1069 (Nev. 1961). “090 Franktown, by petition, requested the state engineer to determine the relative rights of various claimants to the waters of Franktown Creek and its tributaries, including Hobart Creek. Following investigation, the state engineer entered his order granting the petition, and…”
State Eng'r of Nevada v. South Fork Band of the Te-Moak Tribe of W. Shoshone Indians, 66 F. Supp. 2d 1163 (D. Nev. 1999). “NRS 533.090, 533.160 and 533.165. Second, in the judicial phase, the court then decrees a particular amount of water to each property for which proof existed of an appropriation for beneficial use.”
Waters of Horse Springs v. State Eng'r, 671 P.2d 1131 (Nev. 1983). “The state engineer’s Order of Determination, issued pursuant to NRS 533.090, gave each party a vested annual stock watering right for fifty head of cattle for the period March 15 to December 15.”
Diamond Nat. Res. Prot. & Conservation Ass'n v. Diamond Valley Ranch, LLC, 2022 NV 43 (Nev. 2022). · cites it 4× “3NRS 533.090 allows the State Engineer to determine priority of relative rights.”
Wright v. Inman, 923 F. Supp. 1295 (D. Nev. 1996). · cites it 2× “See NRS §§ 533.090 et seq. The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources, commented specifically on the water rights issue in a letter to the Forest Service: If any prior [water] right is affected by the mining activity, the State…”
Mineral Cnty. v. Walker River Irrigation Dist., 890 F.3d 1174 (9th Cir. 2018). “” See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090 et seq. (entitled “Adjudication of Vested Water Rights”).”
Bentley v. Hall Ranches, LLC C/W 64773/66932 (Nev. 2016). · cites it 3× “In the current case, the State Engineer entered an FOD and the Bentleys filed exceptions thereto determining the water rights of the North Sheridan Creek users and filed the FOD with the district court pursuant to NRS 533.090 and NRS 533.165. Accordingly, this is a statutory…”
Mineral Co. Vs. Lyon Co. (nrap 5), 2020 NV 58 (Nev. 2020). · cites it 2× “265(2)(b), and determined based on relative rights, NRS 533.090(1)-(2). The other fundamental principle that the water statutes embrace is beneficial use.”
Mineral Cnty. v. Walker River Irrigation Dist. (9th Cir. 2018). “” See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090 et seq. (entitled “Adjudication of Vested Water Rights”).”
Ministerio Roca Solida, Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2019). “A permit to use water received from the State Engineer is not given conclusive effect until after an adjudication of all the water rights claims on a stream or stream system under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090 . Salmon River Canal Co.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.090(1) — 2 cases
Diamond Nat. Res. Prot. & Conservation Ass'n v. Diamond Valley Ranch, LLC, 2022 NV 43 (Nev. 2022). “3NRS 533.090 allows the State Engineer to determine priority of relative rights.”
Mineral Co. Vs. Lyon Co. (nrap 5), 2020 NV 58 (Nev. 2020). “265(2)(b), and determined based on relative rights, NRS 533.090(1)-(2). The other fundamental principle that the water statutes embrace is beneficial use.”
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