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<br />vicinity of F!Jrt Collins and Greeley, the science and art of irrigation
<br />practices were extended by the bolder spirits to the reclamation of
<br />greater areas of land iar.removed from the local source of water supplies;
<br />how men of vision later foreseeing the, exhaustion of the normal ,stream
<br />flow, conceived and brought about the existence of a great systefn' of stor-
<br />age reservoirs for equalizing stream nows; and finally, as the need for
<br />greater supplies became manifest, pieroed the mountains with expensive
<br />tunnels, and by the use of many miles of great canal systems, supplemented
<br />their local supplies by diversions from foreign drainage areas; and when
<br />it seemed that individual arid corpo~ate ability had been exhausted, the
<br />Federal Govermnent was appealed to to construct huge systems of storage
<br />and distribution beyond the ability: of individU!lls and corporations to
<br />finance. These great accomplishments have not been oonsummated without
<br />hindrances and discouragements, yet;have gone forward under oonditions,
<br />eoonomically both fair and foul, during periods cfhigh mortality to rail-
<br />ways, banlring institutions, mining and manufacturing industries. '
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<br />,Such have been the transformations wrought tIi thin the brief span of
<br />a single life. '
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<br />We, as a young Nation, inherited many of our basic laws from England}
<br />our Mother country, which as in mosti humid rElgions, recognized the Com-
<br />,mon law doctrine of riparian ownersh;1p i-Ihich, among other things, pro-
<br />vides that one owning land adjacent to, or abutting on a stream, is vested
<br />with the right to !liive the waters thereof now past his land subste:ntiall
<br />undiminished in quantity or quality.' That he may take therefrom orily so
<br />much of the' water as may be required' to meet the needs of his household
<br />and livestock; but should he take an',additional amount over and above
<br />those requirements, he must return the excess amount to the stream. before
<br />it leaves his land.
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<br />Our forefathers realized that such a theory is not applicable to an
<br />arid or semi-arid rel1.ion where the maximum consU11lPtive use of the water
<br />is necessary to produce food products and to sustain life. So in fram-
<br />ing the Constitution of our State, our forefathers repudiated the
<br />Doctrine of riparian ownership as it applies to the use of water, and
<br />adopted what is known as the "Doctrine of Appropr:l..ation," which is now
<br />the reoognized law in seventeen cf our western Statijs. Thirteen ,other
<br />states have reco@1ized this principle by legl.slat1ve enactments. ,
<br />Colorado, as I recall, with ttlO or three exceptions, is thll ollly State
<br />of the West which has this announced principle written into its constitu-
<br />tion. . :
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<br />The ~0~iat1 ve Doct;o,l,l1e _~as. first 1!!.nlOJW:,eJ;U.n...1872 ,in. .tb!l ,ce-se ..
<br />of Yunker vs. NichoIS-;-iis'reported in the First' Colorado Reports of our
<br />Supreme Court.
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<br />The Territory of Colorado was created by Act of Congress out of
<br />lands which were then parts of the 'States or Territories of K8.IlSas,
<br />Nebraska, Utah and tIew Uexico. Local Qustoms with respect to the use
<br />C'f >later which had developed ;orior to that time, involved important
<br />questions rela ti ve 'to the rights of d1.f,f. erent appropriators, both as to
<br />quantity and time of use. These differences later resulted in the noted /'
<br />decision of the Territorial Supreme Court, in Yunk~ vs. llichole in 1872.
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