Lytle Creek Water Co. v. Perdew

4 P. 426, 65 Cal. 447, 1884 Cal. LEXIS 593
California Supreme Court·Decided July 26, 1884·No. No. 9,244·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

Thornton, J.

The court rendered the following decision:—

“First—That at various times since about the year 1854, a large number of persons owning and occupying separate tracts of land, consisting of farms on the Rancho of San Bernardino, and other farms immediately to the north and west of said rancho, and residence lots and gardens, orchards, and vineyards, in the town of San Bernardino, diverted and appropriated the waters of Lytle Creek by means of water ditches and dams, and conducted such waters upon their said lands for irrigating the same, and for household and domestic use thereon.
“Such appropriations were usually made by persons owning and occupying lands in the same vicinity or neighborhood, acting in concert for their common benefit in appropriating a portion of the waters of the creek into a main ditch to be conducted to their neighborhood, and thence through distributing ditches to their respective and individual tracts of land.
[448]*448“Second—That within about two years' after 1854, and before the end of the year 1856, by means of several such appropriations mentioned in finding i., all of the waters of said Lytle Creek had been so diverted and appropriated, and have ever since been appropriated and used for irrigation and household and domestic uses upon the lands aforesaid, and other lands occupied and cultivated by defendants, as hereinafter stated.
“ Third—That such waters so appropriated and used were used by the various persons who appropriated the same, and those claiming to be their successors, by turns, separately and consecutively, each upon his separate land" for a certain length of time, measured by hours and minutes, under the regulations of the board of water commissioners of this county, and the overseers of ditches prescribing how often and the length of time each should be entitled to use the same, varying in time according to the extent of interest each held in the waters so appropriated, except, however, that one George Lord, one of the first appropriators, has always to the present time, used said water upon his farm of about forty acres, whenever his needs required it at any time, under a claim of right so to do.
“ Such separate interests in the water were held by the individuals separately, and sold, transferred, or abandoned by them respectively at their will.
Fourth—That in June, 1867, the defendant A. G. Perdew settled upon and has ever since resided upon and cultivated a tract of government land near said Lytle Creek, and within the flow of the same, but lying above the aforesaid lands of original apprepriators mentioned in finding i., and about the time of his said settlement thereon he diverted and appropriated from said Lytle Creek a stream of water through a ditch constructed by him, for the purpose of irrigating his said land, and for household and domestic uses thereon, and he has ever since conducted, appropriated, and used such stream of water upon his said land to irrigate the same and crops thereon, and for household and domestic purposes.
Fifth—That the plaintiff was, at the commencement of this action, the owner through mesne conveyances and transfers of certain interests in, or a portion of the waters of said Lytle [449]*449Creek, appropriated as aforesaid prior to the time that said defendant A. G. Perdew made his appropriations aforesaid in-1867, as mentioned in finding iv„, equal in amount to the use of all the waters of said creek one hundred and twenty-four hours and nineteen minutes out of each and every three hundred and seventy-two hours; and since the commencement of this action, and before filing the supplemental complaint herein, the plaintiff has acquired and now owns through mesne conveyances an additional interest in, or portion of said waters, conveyed to it directly by one E. H. Morse, appropriated as aforesaid prior to the aforesaid appropriation of said defendant A. G. Perdew, equal in amount to the use of all the waters of said creek, eight hours out of each three hundred and seventy-two hours, making in all an amount equal to the use of all the waters of the creek one hundred and thirty-two hours and nineteen minutes in each three hundred and seventy-two hours, or in other words, in the same proportion to the constant flow of the whole stream as the period of one hundred and thirty-two hours and nineteen minutes is to three hundred and seventy-two hours. But the said appropriation and use by defendant A. G. Perdew is prior in time to any other right or interest of the plaintiff.
“Sixth—r-That such appropriation by the defendant A. G. Perdew was not made with the consent of plaintiff or any of its grantors or predecessors in interest, through whom it derives its aforesaid interest in said waters which it now owns as aforesaid, and said defendant did not appropriate, and has not used said water with intent to deprive any prior appropriator of any of said waters, or the successors in interest of any of such prior appropriators, of any of the said waters which had been previously appropriated, and his use of said waters and right to use the same has been several times, to wit, more frequently than' once in five years, since his appropriation thereof, interrupted and disputed by others of the said original appropriators and their successors in interest.
“Seventh—That in the year 1879, the defendants, A. G. Perdew, G. F. R. B. Perdew, and R. P. Perdew, constructed in what is known as South Fork Cañón, but designated in the answer as Dry Cañón, and in Grapevine Cañón, flumes for the [450]*450purpose of carrying water, and which did carry water flowing in said South Fork Canon to the amount of about fifty-eight inches under a four-inch pressure, and in said Grapevine Cañón to the amount of about ten inches under a four-inch pressure, and conducted such water through said flume into the main streams of Lytle Creek aforesaid, above where any of the water is diverted from said creek as aforesaid. The lands upon which said flumes are constructed, and upon which the streams in said cañons were flowing, are unsurveyed public lands of the United States, and unoccupied except by such flumes.
“Eighth — That all the waters in said two cañons, and all of that which was conducted through said flumes into the main streams of Lytle Creek as aforesaid, have, before said fluming by defendants, always naturally flowed into the said main streams of Lytle Creek and constituted tributaries of the same, and the quantity of water in said Lytle Creek has not in any manner been increased by reason of the fluming of the waters from said cañón by defendants as aforesaid.
“Ninth—That in addition to the aforesaid appropriation by' A. G. Perdew in 1867, as stated in finding iv., and ever since the construction of the aforesaid flumes by defendants, as stated in finding vii., the said defendants have diverted from said Lytle Creek, and used upon their respective farms, as alleged in their answer, an amount of water equal to that flowing through their said flumes into the main streams of Lytle Creek as aforesaid, and if not restrained will continue so to do.
“ Tenth

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Lytle Creek Water Co. v. Perdew, 4 P. 426, 65 Cal. 447, 1884 Cal. LEXIS 593 (Cal. 1884).

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