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Show 476 NEVADA formulates state policy in this area and coordinates all studies con- cerning the supply, development, use, and conservation of water.49 d. AGENCIES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL Local agencies in Nevada which are involved in water development or conservation include: (1) Irrigation districts 50 (2) Drainage districts 51 (3) Water conservancy districts B2 (4) Watershed protection and flood prevention districts53 (5) Flood control districts.54 3. Surface Waters The Nevada Supreme Court has defined a watercourse as a regular channel which has banks or sides, where the water usually flows in a certain direction.55 However, it is not necessary that it contain water at all times, nor is the continuity of the watercourse broken by the fact that the water may, at times, disappear in the bed and re- appear downstream.56 3.1 Method of Acquiring Rights a. EARLY PROCEDURES As already mentioned, there were early decisions recognizing the doctrine of prior appropriation where the parties relied on this concept as the sole basis for their water claims;57 then the court ruled in 1872 that riparian water rights prevailed over appropriative rights;58 and in 1885 the court reversed its stand and repudiated the riparian concept, ruling that such a doctrine did not serve the wants and necessities of the people of the area.59 In 1905, legislation was enacted which delegated administrative jurisdiction over the appropriation of the waters of a watercourse to the State engineer,60 but in 1914 the Nevada court observed that the greater portion of the water within the State had already been appropriated before the 1905 statute was enacted.61 Under the prestatutory procedure, a water right could be acquired by diverting the water from the source with an intent to apply it to a beneficial use, followed by reasonable diligence in actually applying the water to such beneficial use within a reasonable time.62 If this was «Nev. Rev. Stat., sees. 232.010 to 232.158. »>Nev. Rev. Stat., ch. 539. 51 Nev. Rev. Stat., ch. 540. B2Nev. Rev. Stat., ch. 541. ^Nev. Rev. Stat., ch. 542. b* Nev. Rev. Stat, ch. 543. bs Barnea v. Sabron, 10 Nev. 217 (1875). w Strait v. Brown, 16 Nev. 317 (1881) ; Anderson Land & Stock Co. v. McConnell, 188 Fed. 818 (D. Nev. 1910). a1? Lobdell v. Simpson, 2 Nev. 274 (1866). ssVansickle v. Haines, 7 Nev. 249 (1872). **> Jones v. Adams, 19 Nev. 78, 6 Pac. 442 (1885). 60 Hutchins, The Nevada Law of Water Rights, 4 (1955). 61 Ormsby County v. Kearney, 37 Nev. 314, 142 Pac. 803 (1914). 82 Walsh v. Wallace, 26 Nev. 299, 67 Pac. 914 (1902) ; Application of Filippini, 66 Nev. 17, 202 P. 2d 535 (1949). |