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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.120 (2026)

Right of appropriation; vested rights protected

✓ current as of May 2026
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      537.120 Right of appropriation; vested rights protected. Subject to existing rights, and except as otherwise provided in ORS chapter 538, all waters within the state may be appropriated for beneficial use, as provided in the Water Rights Act and not otherwise; but nothing contained in the Water Rights Act shall be so construed as to take away or impair the vested right of any person to any water or to the use of any water.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1957–2025 · leading case: East Valley Water v. Water Resources Comm'n, 539 P.3d 789 (Or. Ct. App. 2023).
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East Valley Water v. Water Resources Comm'n, 539 P.3d 789 (Or. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 5× “” ORS 537.120. “[A]ny person intending to acquire the right to the beneficial use of any of the surface waters of this state shall, before beginning construction * * * or performing any work in connection with the construction, or proposed appropriation, make an application to…”
Fort Vannoy Irrigation Dist. v. Water Resources Comm'n, 188 P.3d 277 (Or. 2008). · cites it 2× “See ORS 537.120 (“[A]ll waters within the state may be appropriated for beneficial use, as provided in the Water Rights Act and not otherwise * * *.”
Waterwatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 316 P.3d 330 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “” 8 ORS 537.120. Again, with some exceptions and exemptions not applicable here, any person who wishes to appropriate surface water for beneficial use must file an application for a permit with the department before beginning construction of water works or *724 using, storing,…”
East Valley Water v. Water Resources Comm'n, 374 Or. 148 (Or. 2025). · cites it 6× “ORS 537.120. The term “benefi- cial use” is not specifically defined by statute, but qualifying beneficial uses include domestic use, municipal water sup- ply, irrigation, power development, industrial use, mining, recreation, conservation of fish and wildlife, and pollution…”
Benz v. Water Resources Comm'n, 764 P.2d 594 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 3× “” Their incorrect assumption is that the Commission made its determination that the leaching of boron is a beneficial use only after it had determined that the water, if not applied to that use, would be wasted.”
Hale v. Water Resources Dep't, 55 P.3d 497 (Or. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “” ORS 537.120 then provides that all waters within the state “may be appropriated for beneficial use, as provided in the Water Rights Act,” so long as such use does not impair the vested right of any other person to use water within the state.”
WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 468 P.3d 478 (Or. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “]” ORS 537.120; see ORS 540.610(1) (“Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure and the limit of all rights to the use of water in this state.”
United States v. Oregon, 44 F.3d 758 (9th Cir. 1994). “Or. Rev.Stat. § 537.120. However, all water rights that had vested prior to 1909, but had never been subject to a judicial determination, have been left intact as “undetermined vested rights.”
Green v. Wheeler, 391 U.S. 990 (1969). “110) and although such water’s were declared to be subject to appropriation, they were appropriable only “as provided in the Water Rights Act and not otherwise * * (ORS 537.120.) Appropriation alone was no longer enough to establish a vested right in the waters of the state; the…”
State Ex Rel. Cox v. Hibbard, 570 P.2d 1190 (Or. Ct. App. 1977). “010 and reaffirmed ORS 537.120 and protected by Acts of Congress 30 USC Sections 51 and 52.”
TPC, LLC v. Water Resources Dept., 482 P.3d 121 (Or. Ct. App. 2020). “, ORS 537.120, a senior appropriator who applies water to a benefi- cial use and thereafter continues to do so holds a water right that is superior to any water right obtained by a subsequent junior appropriator.”
Warner Valley Stock Co. v. Lynch, 336 P.2d 884 (Or. 1959). “The irrigation of the Laird lands under such circumstances would not constitute a beneficial use of water within the meaning of ORS 537.120. The objectors also assert that the trial court should have dismissed the appeal on the ground that the applicant did not come into court…”
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