BOARD01026

• Board Meeting Date: 5/16/2006
• Description: History of Reservoirs in the San Luis Valley - Presentation by Melvin Getz
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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resouroe by the oontrol of inapplicable, ancient legal dootrines.

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The first reoognition by our lawm$kers of the faot that, in order to
make the highest benefioial use 01: this essential resouroe, we must de-
part from or modify the common law, occurred in the first session of our
territorial legislature, late in the year 1861. At that session, alid
under date of November 5 of that year, an act was passed by the
legislature in substanoe pro1tiding that the owner or ,occupant of land
in the vioinityof, but not adjacent to, a flowing stream, had the right
to construct a ditoh over the landa lying between his 18nd and the ,
stream, for the purpose of diverting and using the waters thereof fOr
irrigation. The aot further provided that if the construotion and I
operation of the ditoh inflicted damage upon the owner of the landsj
which it traverse a, the claimant would have ,the right to condemn a right
of way over these lands, with the amount of damage to be assessed by a
commission appointed by a Justice of the Peaoe. ' !

At sucoeeding sessions of the Territorial Legislature, between :the
years 1861 and 1866, various special acts were passed, granting,ChaJters
to companies engaged in the construct.1on and operation of irrigating
ditchss. On February 5, 1866, an act was passed, in the nature of '
special legislation, applicable only to this region. 'It is a quite'
unique and interesting law. It provideS, in substanoe, that in the
Counties of Costilla and Conejos the citizene thereof engaged in agri-
cultura~ pursuits ar~ authorized and empowered to hold an election on
the first Monday of liarch in each year, for the purpose of electing
superintendents 01: acequias, to-wit, e superintendent for each and every
Acequia Madre in the eforesaid counties. Only those persons in the
occupation or lands adjoining the Acequia for farming purposes, were
entitled to vote at theee elections. : The duties or the superintendent
so elected are presoribed, which consist of keeping the ditch under. his '
supervision in repair, and to that ena he is empowered to call upon each
person using water from the ditch to contribute his share of the work
necessary to keep the ditch in operation. It also provides for a fin"
of not less than $1.00 or more than 1I5.00, for a~ person failing to
obey the call 01: 'the superintendent.

An interesting providon 01: this law is that the superintendent shall
provide an ample supply of water at all times for the ~enef1t 01: the
users of the ditch; and if he, shall fail or neglect to do so, he shall be
liable to a fine of not less than $5.00 nor more than $50.00; also if
he shall wilfully neglect his dllty in such manner thiLt damage is done,
hs shall be liable for such damage, and in addition; to a fine of $2$.00.

It might be observed that said statuts bas never been directly
repealed, and unle,ss it is rspealed by implication, as to whioh there is
some doubt, it is still ths law of the land.

The provision making the superintendent liable to furnish to each
user of water an ampls supply at all times suggests an intriguing
situation. The enforoement of this statute under present-day conditions
would be interesting. I would suggest that water users under every l:11tch
in these two oounties prooeed,to alec~ a superintendent thereot, and then

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