## Facts

- Derald and Ruth Prather owned a residential tract supplied by an artesian domestic well that historically rose above ground due to artesian pressure; neighboring domestic well owners (Furley and Zessin) assigned related claims to the Prathers.
- Don and Sharon Eisenmann purchased nearby agricultural land and completed a high-capacity irrigation well (179 feet deep) capable of substantial pumping.
- After the irrigation well began pumping, the domestic well owners experienced loss of artesian pressure and lowered water levels, leaving their existing domestic installations unable to supply household and livestock water.
- Hydrologic testing supported findings that the irrigation and domestic wells drew from the same definable aquifer and that pumping from the irrigation well produced the observed drawdown and loss of artesian head.
- The district court found the aquifer could supply all users if the domestic owners lowered their pumps below the aquifer level and the irrigation owners did not lower the irrigation pump.

## Issues

1. Whether an overlying landowner’s irrigation pumping may lawfully destroy or seriously impair existing domestic wells drawing from the same aquifer under Nebraska groundwater law and statutory preferences.
2. Whether established domestic groundwater use constitutes a legally protected interest supporting injunctive relief and damages when another user’s pumping causes unreasonable harm.

## Decision

- The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s judgment.
- The court upheld findings that defendants’ irrigation pumping caused loss of artesian pressure and lowered water below the reach of plaintiffs’ domestic installations, constituting unreasonable interference with domestic use.
- The court affirmed a permanent injunction barring defendants from lowering the irrigation pump and temporarily barring pumping for the reasonable time needed for plaintiffs to lower their pumps.
- The court affirmed damages of $5,346.58 for the reasonable costs of securing an assured alternative domestic water supply.

## Legal Principles

- Domestic groundwater use is a preferred use under Nebraska’s groundwater preference framework and may be protected against later-initiated irrigation pumping that materially impairs it.
- Where wells draw from a common, reasonably definable aquifer, a pumping user may be liable when withdrawals cause unreasonable and substantial impairment of another’s established domestic supply (including loss of artesian pressure or drawdown beyond existing equipment reach).
- Established domestic groundwater use may be treated as a protectable property interest (a “domestic appropriation”) supporting both equitable and legal remedies.
- Courts may craft equitable relief to accommodate competing uses by requiring operational constraints on the interfering user and allowing time for technical adjustments, while also awarding damages measured by reasonable costs to restore or maintain the domestic supply.

## Conclusion

The court held that irrigation pumping from a shared aquifer that unreasonably destroys or substantially impairs established domestic wells violates Nebraska’s preference for domestic use, justifying tailored injunctive relief and damages equal to the reasonable cost of maintaining an assured domestic water supply.


Prather v. Eisenmann, 200 Neb. 1, 261 N.W.2d 766 (1978)