(Prior) Appropriation Doctrine The system for allocating water to private individuals used in the western United States under which (1) the right to water was acquired by diverting water and applying it to a beneficial use and (2) a right to water acquired earlier in time is superior to a similar right acquired later in time. In most states water rights are not now acquired by diverting water and applying it to a beneficial use. Such a system is referred to as the constitutional method of appropriation. Water rights are acquired by application, permit, and license, which may not require diversion and application to a beneficial use. Superiority of right is based on earliest in time and has no reference to whether two rights are for a similar use. The doctrine of Prior Appropriation was in common use throughout the arid west as early settlers and miners began to develop the land. The prior appropriation doctrine is based on the concept of “First in Time, First in Right.” The first person to take a quantity of water and put it to Beneficial Use has a higher priority of right than a subsequent user. Under drought conditions, higher priority users are satisfied before junior users receive water. Appropriative rights can be lost through nonuse, they can also be sold or transferred apart from the land. Contrast with Riparian Water Rights.
Source: http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacg/i/fulltext/dicciona/dicciona.pdf
Web site to visit: http://www.state.nv.us/cnr/ndwp/home.htm
Author of the Water Words Dictionary source of text: Gary A. Horton
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