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Last modified
5/14/2010 8:58:17 AM
Creation date
9/30/2006 10:18:55 PM
Metadata
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Publications
Year
1995
Title
Califormia Water
CWCB Section
Interstate & Federal
Author
Arthur L. Littlewort
Description
History, overview, and explanation of water rights and legislation of California
Publications - Doc Type
Historical
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<br /> <br />The doctrine of riparian rights originated <br />in England and was adopted in California <br />as part of the English common law. <br /> <br />Appropriative rights arise from mining <br />customs in early California. <br /> <br />The dual system of riparian and appro- <br />priative rights was established by the <br />California Supreme Court in 1886. <br /> <br />30 CALIFORNIA WATER <br /> <br />The riparian doctrine was applied in the eastern United States, <br />eventually gaining recognition in some western states, including <br />California. In 1850, the first legislature in California passed the Act <br />of April 13, 1850 which stated that- <br /> <br />The common law of England, so far as it is not repugnant to or <br />inconsistent with the constitution of the United States, or the con- <br />stitution or laws of this state, is the rule of decision in all the courts <br />of this state. Gin Chow, page 695. <br /> <br />Because of this provision, several early court decisions recognized <br />riparian rights hased upon private ownership of land. (Los Angeles <br />v. Baldwin (1879) 53 Cal. 469; Pope v. Kinman (1879) 54 Cal. 3; Caue <br />v. Crafts (1878) 53 Cal. 135.) <br />Appropriative rights, recognized by the California Supreme <br />Court in the early case ofIrwin u. Phillips (1855) 5 Cal. 140, 145-147, <br />also existed at this time, primarily as a practice of miners. The cus- <br />tom arose in mining camps on public lands because no one could own <br />the land, and thus no one could get a riparian right. The California <br />legislature regnlated water rights in 1872 through the enactment of <br />Civil Code provisions, codifying customs such as prior appropriation. <br />Civ. Code ~~ 1410-22 (1872, 1913); ~~ 141Ob-1413 have been re- <br />pealed. Specifically, Civil Code Section 1410 stated that "[t]he right to <br />use rurnring water flowing in a river or stream, or down a canyon or <br />ravine may be acquired by appropriation." Civ. Code ~ 1410 (1872). <br />Civil Code Section 1422 stated that "[t]he rights of riparian proprietors <br />are not affected by the provisions of this title." Civ. Code ~ 1422 <br />(1872); now repealed. Thus, battle lines were drawn between those <br />opposing riparian rights (individuals without riparian land, typically <br />miners operating on public domain property) and the riparians who <br />worried about losing their water rights to upstream appropriators. <br />Lux v. Haggin. The conflict between riparian and appropriative <br />rights was addressed by the Supreme Court in 1886 in the cele- <br />brated case of Lux u. Haggin (1886) 69 Cal. 255, when the court <br />establlshed the dual doctrine of riparian and appropriative rights. <br />The case involved the water rights of a downstream riparian rancher <br />and an upstream appropriator on the Kern River, each claiming a <br />superior right to the use of water. The court, recognizing both the <br />riparian and appropriative doctrines, found that riparian rights had <br />been recognized in California since the 1850 Act, which had "oper- <br />ated a transfer" of California's water rights to riparian owners. Lux. <br />page 338. The court explained that the United States held common <br />law water rights in non-navigable watercourses that flowed through <br />
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