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Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-110

§500 Duty of Association or District to Take Over Management

Title 43 › CHAPTER 12 — RECLAMATION AND IRRIGATION OF LANDS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT › SUBCHAPTER XI — MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF WORKS GENERALLY › § 500

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

When two-thirds of the irrigable land in a project or part of a project is covered by water-right contracts with the United States, the people who use the water must take over the care, operation, and maintenance of all or part of the project through a legally formed water-users’ association or an irrigation district before they can get certain benefits in this title. The Secretary may set rules for how the takeover happens. After users assume control, the United States will deal with the association or district, and that year’s operation and maintenance charges are placed into the construction account to be repaid as part of the construction repayments.

Full Legal Text

Title 43, §500

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever two-thirds of the irrigable area of any project, or division of a project, shall be covered by water-right contracts between the water users and the United States, said project shall be required, as a condition precedent to receiving the benefits of section 371, 376, 377, 412, 417, 433, 438, 462, 463, 466, 467, 473, 474, 478, 493, 494, 500, 501, and 526 of this title to take over, through a legally organized water-users’ association or irrigation district, the care, operation, and maintenance of all or any part of the project works, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, and thereafter the United States, in its relation to said project, shall deal with a water users’ association or irrigation district, and when the water users assume control of a project, the operation and maintenance charges for the year then current shall be covered into the construction account to be repaid as part of the construction repayments.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 438 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by act Aug. 13, 1953, ch. 428, § 10, 67 Stat. 568. section 463, 467, 473, and 474 of this title, referred to in text, were repealed by act May 25, 1926, ch. 383, § 47, 44 Stat. 650.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Definitions The definitions in section 371 of this title apply to this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

43 U.S.C. § 500

Title 43, Public Lands

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110