OCR Text |
Show 338 KENTUCKY having administrative responsibilities for the regulation and devel- opment of the water resources of the State, have been reviewed above.21 In addition to these agencies, the Governor's cabinet has been delegated the overall planning responsibility for the State, and this encompasses the development of plans relating to water and water supply.22 d. AGENCIES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL The following local agencies have certain specific responsibilities relating to water resource development or control in Kentucky: 7l Drainage, levee, and reclamation districts 23 (2 Soil and water conservation districts 24 (3 Watershed conservancy districts25 (4 Flood control districts and cities26 (5) Water districts.27 3. Surface Waters The Kentucky court has defined a watercourse as that which has a reasonably well-defined channel with a bed and banks, containing the flow of a stream, although the flow need not be continuous.28 The Water Resource Act of 1966 defines a watercourse in essentially the same terms.29 3.1 Method of Acquiring Bights a. RIGHTS BY VIRTUE OF OWNERSHIP OF LAND Until the recent enactment of the Water Resources Act, the exclu- sive method of acquiring a right to use waters of a watercourse in Kentucky was by virtue of the ownership of land abutting the stream. Under the riparian rights doctrine, as announced by the Kentucky Court, the owner of land abutting a stream or across which a stream flows, has co-equal rights with other riparian owners to the natural flow of the stream, but he has a right to supply his natural domestic demands, including water for his stock, even if such use materially diminishes the volume of the stream. Secondary uses are permitted but are limited to a reasonable and proportionate share of the stream, and such secondary uses cannot deprive other riparians of their primary domestic rights in the stream. Injury to lower riparians is the prime factor in determining whether or not a use is unreasonable,30 and more will be said about the reasonable use limitation in section 3.2 below. 21 Sees. 2.1 and 2.3.a. 22 Ky. Rev. Stat., sees. 147.070 to 147.100. » Ky. Rev. Stat, ch. 266, 267, 268, 269. 2* Ky. Rev. Stat., sees. 262.010 to 262.660. » Ky. Rev. Stat., sees. 262.700 to 262.795. 28 Ky. Rev. Stat., eh. 104. *> Ky. Rev. Stat., ch. 74. 28 Morgan v. Morgan, 205 Ky. 545, 266 S.W. 35 (1924) ; Withers v. Berea College, 349 S.W. 2d357 (1961). » Ky. Rev. Stat., sec. 151.100. 80 Anderson v. Cincinnati Southern Railway, 86 Ky. 44, 5 S.W. 49 (1887) : City of Louisville v. Tway, 297 Ky. 565, 180 S.W. 2d 278 (1944) ; Kraver v. Smith, 164 Ky. 674, 177 S.W. 286 (1915). |