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Show 358 APPROPRIATION OF WATER the area, we are in agreement with the trial court that a plan of weighted priorities will operate with less hardship than a system based upon a strict time priority basis. As stated by that court: "Under a strict priority allocation, the first priority acreage will receive all water flowing into the reservoir until its full quota would be received.* * * This procedure would result in some land receiv- ing no water for an entire year; in fact records show that since construction of Falcon dam, there would be four years that no water would be received by any acreage other than that of the first priority.* * * Under the weighted allocation procedure, first pri- ority acreage would receive less water than under a strict priority basis. The water not allocated to (the first priority acreage) would go to lower priority acreage. Under this procedure all land would receive water every year." The trial court also found as a fact that the economy of the lower Rio Grande Valley would be served by the adoption of a weighted priority system. While there are imaginable circumstances under which strict priority would operate more benefically than a "weighted priority" plan, we are in agreement with the court below, despite the recognized danger inherent in attempting to predict climatic, meteorological and weather conditions along the Rio Grande in future years. In times of severe drought, public policy calling for efficient and effective use of water as opposed to waste and enforceable under the police power of the state, is available to ameliorate extreme conditions. Although, so far as we have been able to find, a system of weighted priorities has never been adopted by a court decree, the concept is not entirely new.661 Storage Location Natural lake.-Sources of water supply specifically named in the water appropriation. statutes may include natural lakes.662 Or by necessary implica- tion, they may be included in an overall designation. In any event, the divided into equal parts per acre for each Priority class" after a certain deduction for water reserved for domestic and urban uses. Id. at 732. The Court of Appeals apparently approved this general approach, although it made modifications in the trial court's priority classes and the deduction for urban uses (Id. at 731 et seq.) and also said "it could be argued with force that those certified filings and permits calling for storm waters should be allowed a preference over those calling only for the ordinary flow" as quoted above at note 655. 661 Id. at 747-748. 662 For example, the Nebraska statute authorizes appropriation of unappropriated waters of any "natural lake or reservoir" to supplement existing rights inadequate in time of water scarcity: Nebr. Rev. Stat. § 46-240 (1968). |