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<br />G:J3,,"i <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />expression can be found in the riparian system of the eastern states. J-11 <br /> <br />The eastern riparian system <br /> <br />"In the East, water was generally plentiful and was seldom withdrawn from <br /> <br />streams or lakes for irrigation or other purposes. Streams were ordinarily <br /> <br />used in their stream beds for running mill wheels and for recreation. The <br /> <br />water was more valuable in the stream or lake than out of it, and the <br /> <br />common law reflected this fact by permitting use only on lands adjacent, or <br /> <br />riparian to the water. (In recent years, of course, this principle has been <br /> <br />modified as non-riparian metropolitan and industrial water needs grew.) It <br /> <br />was said that the right to have the water flow past riparian lands was <br /> <br /> <br />inseparably annexed to the land, and that riparian rights were not lost by <br /> <br />disuse, nor gained by use; they existed by virtue of the physical relationship <br /> <br />of the land to the water. Since the thrust of the early common law <br /> <br />riparian system was to permit water to be used only by landowners abutting <br /> <br />the stream, the riparian system automatically protected watersheds of <br /> <br />origin. J-12 <br /> <br />The western appropriation system <br />, <br /> <br />"In contrast to the riparian system, the western appropriation system does <br /> <br />not protect areas of origin. This system is based on the idea (that) first in <br /> <br />time is first in right, i.e., the first person who diverts water from a stream <br /> <br />and puts it to beneficial use acquires a legal right to continue such use. <br /> <br />The system originated during the mid-19th century in response to the needs <br /> <br />of western farmers and miners who required water to irrigate crops and <br /> <br />-13- <br />