East Mill Creek Water Co. v. Salt Lake City

159 P.2d 863, 108 Utah 315, 1945 Utah LEXIS 124
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 1945
DocketNo. 6788.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 159 P.2d 863 (East Mill Creek Water Co. v. Salt Lake City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
East Mill Creek Water Co. v. Salt Lake City, 159 P.2d 863, 108 Utah 315, 1945 Utah LEXIS 124 (Utah 1945).

Opinions

WADE, Justice.

This action was brought by East Mill Creek Water Company, a corporation, and some of its stockholders on behalf of all similarly situated, against Salt Lake City, to obtain a declaratory judgment interpreting the provisions of a contract affecting an exchange of water, entered into between the company and the city on July 19th, 1923. In the trial court the city prevailed and the plaintiffs appeal to this court.

At the time the contract was entered into the company and its stockholders were the owners of the right to the use of both summer and winter waters in Mill Creek, for irrigation and culinary purposes, through three ditches which were known as the “Amos Neff Ditch,” the “Frank *317 lin and John Neff Ditch” and the “Brigham Young Ditch.” This was mountain water suitable for culinary purposes and constituted more than a third of all the waters of Mill Creek. Mill Creek is southeast of Salt Lake City, and the area on which this water had been used was adjacent to the city limits, roughly between 27th and 39th South Streets and 20th and 27th East Streets. Prior thereto, they had no water main or pipe-line system and both culinary and irrigation water was conveyed through open ditches. Salt Lake City had just passed through a period of rapid growth and was under the necessity of increasing its culinary water supply. For that purpose it approached the owners of these waters with a proposition to exchange other waters suitable for culinary and irrigation purposes for their water rights in Mill Creek. To effect such an exchange the corporation was formed, and the owners transferred all of their said water rights to the corporation in exchange for proportionate shares of stock therein, consisting of two classes of stoek, one of which entitled them to the use of irrigation and the other to the use of culinary water.

After the company had been formed it entered into the contract in question with Salt Lake City. The parts thereof which are necessary for an understanding of the questions presented in this case are as follows:

“Contract.
“This agreement made and entered into this 19th day of July, 1923, by and between East Mill Creek Water Company, a corporation * * * (hereinafter referred to as the ‘company’) and Salt Lake City, a municipal corporation * * * (hereinafter referred to as ‘city’),
“Witnesseth:
“Whereas, the company is the owner of certain waters and water rights in Mill Creek, * •* * and
“Whereas, the city is the owner of certain other waters which may be used for irrigation purposes, and
“Whereas, the city is desirous of securing the use of the waters owned by said company, and the company is willing to transfer to *318 the city the right to use of its said waters upon the terms, conditions and provisions as hereinafter set forth.
“Now, therefore, * * *:
“Article I.
“Said company hereby covenants, promises and agrees as follows:
“1. The said company hereby grants, sells, conveys and transfers to said city all the waters and water rights owned by said company, together with that certain water main system herein provided to be constructed by and under the direction of the city at the cost of the company.
“2. It is understood and agreed that all of the company’s rights to the waters of Mill Creek, * * * are hereby vested in the city perpetually, subject only to the conditions herein specified.
“3. That the said company will deliver the waters herein specified at a suitable point in the bed of Mill Creek such that the same can be delivered by gravity into the City’s conduit; * * *
“4. That said company will pay the entire cost of the proposed water main system hereinafter specified, with the understanding that the work will be done under the city’s direction.
“5. That said company will secure all necessary franchises and rights-of-way for said water main system.
“Article II.
“The city hereby covenants, promises and agrees as follows:
“1. To furnish and deliver irrigation water perpetually or so long as it may be demanded by said company, at the heads of the above mentioned ditches or at such other points along such ditches as may be mutually agreed upon; * * * in quantity and time as follows, to wit:
“During the months of April, May and June of each year, the quantity of water equal to the combined share of said ditches in the flow of Mill Creek, less the quantity of culinary water hereinafter specified;
“During th.e months of July, August and September, twenty per cent more water than the combined share of said ditches, less the quantity of culinary water specified.
“2. To construct and maintain perpetually at the point of delivery of irrigation water to the company suitable measuring devices for the measurement and delivery of the water.
“3. To install, at the cost of the company as herein provided, and maintain perpetually a suitable system of water mains of such size and capacity and under such pressure as will effectively deliver the *319 water necessary for the use of the stockholders in a pure and wholesome condition; said water mains to be laid upon the following streets:
[Then follows a specification of the streets and other matters]
“4. To furnish and deliver in the water main system for the use of the company and its stockholders water entirely satisfactory for culinary purposes on the bases of 450 gallons daily per acre of water right or not to exceed in total 228,000 gallons daily during the months of April, May, June, July, August and September, and of 225 gallons daily per acre of water right, or not to exceed in total 144,000 gallons daily during the months of October, November, December, January, February and March, free of expense to the company; provided, that if the company or its stockholders at any time desire water in excess of the quantities specified herein, and the city has water in excess of its municipal needs, the city shall furnish to the company or its stockholders such water at the regular city water rates; said culinary water herein specified to be furnished free shall be so furnished only during the time that the territory served shall remain without the city limits and in no event for a longer period than twenty years from date hereof, after which time said water shall be furnished at the rates and under the conditions provided for the use of water by the inhabitants of the city. It is to be understood that the said culinary water to be furnished free is to be so furnished to stockholders owning at least one half acre water right; and that those stockholders owning less than that amount shall pay the regular city rates.
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Bluebook (online)
159 P.2d 863, 108 Utah 315, 1945 Utah LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/east-mill-creek-water-co-v-salt-lake-city-utah-1945.