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Show Chapter 13. ILLINOIS CONTENTS Page 1. Development of Illinois Water Law____________________________ 277 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control__ 278 2.1 Administration of Water Rights_______________________ 278 2.2 Resolution of Water Use Conflicts_____________________ 280 2.3 Other Agencies Having Water Resource Responsibilities____ 280 3. Surface Waters____________________________________________ 283 3.1 Method of Acquiring Rights_________________________ 284 3.2 Nature and Limit of Rights__________________________ 284 3.3 Changes, Sales, and Transfers_________________________ 286 3.4 Loss of Rights____________________________________ 286 3.5 Storage Waters, Artificial Lakes, and Ponds_____________ 287 3.6 Springs__________________________________________ 287 3.7 Diffused Surface Waters_____________________________ 287 4. Ground Water____________________________________________ 288 Publications Available________________________________________ 289 DISCUSSION 1. Development of Illinois Water Law Illinois is located in a region of the United States where a sub- stantial quantity of water is available from a combination of rain- fall, streams, lakes, and underground storage. However, this water is not always uniformly available either in time, place, or quantity, and Illinois has experienced occasional extended periods of both excess water and drought. Further, accessibility and distribution constitute major problems in the use of the available water re- sources.1 Although Illinois has many heavily-populated and highly-devel- oped areas throughout the State, water right problems do not appear to have attracted much attention from either the courts or the legislature. However, when conflicts concerning water rights first arose, the Illinois courts adopted and applied the riparian doctrine of reasonable use in the settlement of disputes. Under the principles announced, each landowner abutting a stream or across whose land a stream flows is entitled to have the stream flow by or through his property undiminished in quantity and unimpaired in quality, ex- cept for a reasonable use of the stream by other riparian landown- ers.2 The only other class of surface water which received much men- tion was diffused surface waters, and there the problems were dis- posal rather than rights of use. Subject to certain qualifications, the owner of an upper tract of land has the right to allow the natural drainage of water from his land onto the property of a lower land- owner.3 1 Mann, Ellis, and Krausz, Water-Use Law in Illinois 1-2, Illinois Agricultural Ex- periment Station Bull. 703 (1964). "Evans v. Merriweather, 4 111. 492 (1842). a Pack v. Herrington, 109 111. 611 (1884) ; Mello V. Lepisto, 77 111. app. 399, 222 N.B. 2d 543 (1966). 277 |
