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Show Chapter 17. KENTUCKY CONTENTS Page 1. Development of Kentucky Water Law_________________________ 333 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control. 334 2.1 Administration of Water Rights_______________________ 334 2.2 Resolution of Water Use Conflicts_____________________ 336 2.3 Other Agencies Having Water Resource Responsibilities____ 336 3. Surface Waters____________________________________________ 338 3.1 Method of Acquiring Rights__________________________ 338 3.2 Nature and Limit of Rights______________....._______ 339 3.3 Changes, Sales, and Transfers_________________________ 341 3.4 Loss of Rights_____________________________________ 342 3.5 Storage Waters, Artificial Lakes, and Ponds_____________ 342 3.6 Springs-....._______________________________..... 342 3.7 Diffused Surf ace Waters_____________________________ 342 4. Ground Water____________________________________________ 344 Publications Available________________________________________ 345 DISCUSSION 1. Development or Kentucky Water Law Because Kentucky is located in a humid region of the United States, water supply did not present the problems in the initial settlement of the area that attended the settlement of the more arid regions of the Nation. However, as the development of Kentucky progressed, disputes over the use of water did arise. The Kentucky Court adopted and applied the doctrine of riparian water rights in resolving these conflicts, so that water use was governed by the ownership of land. As explained by court decisions in Kentucky, every owner of land adjacent to a watercourse has an equal right to have the water flow 'by his property, subject only to the right of each such land- owner to make a limited use of the water. Aside from waters in a surface watercourse, the only class of water which has received any extensive attention by the Kentucky courts is diffused surface waters. These are waters from rain or melting snow which are diffused over the surface of the ground, and Kentucky, by both judicial decision and statute, has recognized the right of the property owner to use these waters. However, most of the decisions have been con- cerned with drainage problems created by the disposition of the water rather than with the right to use the water. In this regard, lower lands are subject to the natural drainage of diffused surface water from upper lands. With respect to ground water, the courts have ruled that ground water in a definite underground stream is governed by the same principles which govern surface waters of a watercourse. All ground water not in a definite channel is classified as percolating ground water and, subject to certain limitations, the owner of the soil owns 333 |