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Show SURFACE WATERS 35 the appropriator. The latter situation can be illustrated by a ref- erence to irrigation. Most cases have approved irrigation ditches as being reasonably efficient even though the carriage losses approxi- mated 30 percent or more, and by installing cement linings to elimi- nate the seepage loss the net carriage loss might be reduced to less than a 5 percent evaporation loss. However, some States would re- quire the appropriator to file either a "savings" application or an application to transfer water use from carriage to beneficial application. (3) PREFERENCE IN USE A number of States have adopted a system of preferences where- by some uses are accorded a priority over other uses. While the priority in preference accorded to different types of uses will vary from State to State, most States which have provided for a system of preferences accord domestic and municipal uses first priority. A preference system may be implemented in different ways. For example, some States have provided for preferred uses in the alloca- tion of unappropriated water; another approach is to provide a preference system to allocate the available water supply among vested users in times of scarcity. c. Riparian Jurisdictions (1) PERMIT SYSTEMS Rights of use derived pursuant to permits under the systems created by statutes in Eastern States have already been mentioned several times, and the individual characteristics of a permit in any particu- lar State will be governed by the particular statutory limitations. Those provisions are discussed for each State having a permit system in the individual state digests. Administrators who approve permit applications and issue permits ordinarily are given a rather wide range of discretion, and permits may oe issued subject to specific conditions and limitations that will apply only to the par- ticular permit in question, so that varying rights of use may arise under different permits issued within the same jurisdiction. (2) TRADITIONAL RIPARIAN RIGHTS Riparian rights are said to be inseparably annexed to the soil, and a part of the land itself. But the right is usufructuary, and merely entitles the owner to use the water-there is no ownership of the water itself. Riparian rights are not dependent upon diversion, im- poundment, or other use of the water, but continue their existence by virtue of continued ownership of riparian land. All riparian water rights on a watercourse are coequal. In theory, no priority or ad- vantage is gained if one riparian commences a water use before other riparians do, but in actual practice prior uses are often protected. Sometimes such protection derives from statutory declarations which provide that certain types of use shall not be impaired by subsequent uses for the same purpose. Sometimes courts find that prescriptive rights have arisen which entitle existing uses to continue without 499-242-73------4 |
