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Show PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS 477 land,209 the supreme court says that this has long been the law in this jurisdiction.210 Statutes of several States provide that no right to appropriate water for irrigation purposes shall be transferred apart from the land to which appurtenant "except in the manner specially provided by law."211 Statutes of these States-and of most others in the West-provide procedure for making changes in place of use, with transfers of appropriative rights from one tract to another, subject to prescribed conditions. (See, in chapter 9, "Change in Exercise of Water Right.") There are exceptions to the general situation. A number of relevant Wyoming and Nebraska statutes and cases in this regard have been discussed earlier under "Appurtenance of Water Rights to Land."212 In Wyoming, originally, appurtenant streamflow water rights might be sold separate and apart from the lands, provided the change did not injuriously affect others.213 Later Wyoming statutes provide, with certain exceptions, that such rights for "the direct use of the natural unstored flow of any stream cannot be detached from the lands, place or purpose for which they are acquired," but that reservoir water rights may be sold or leased un- less attached to particular lands by conveyances from the reservoir owners to the water users.214 Conveyance of water right represented by shares in mutual irrigation corporation.-{I) Nature of the mutual company. Mutual or cooperative irrigation companies are private associations of irrigation farmers, voluntarily organized for the purpose of providing irrigation water at cost, primarily for use on the farms of their members, and usually for domestic purposes also. The larger ones are incorporated. Each State has a general corporation law, which is adapted to the functioning of irrigation enterprises and, in the West, is widely used for their incorporation. (See the discussions of water-supply enterprises under "Elements of the Appropriative Right-Sale, Rental, or Distribution of Water.") The capital stock of a mutual irrigation corporation, as is the case with private corporations generally, represents ownership of the corporate assets. Hence, an irrigation water user who owns shares of stock in the mutual company that serves his land has an undivided ownership interest in the 209 Utah Code Ann. § 73-1-11 (1968). 210Salt Lake City v.McFarland, 1 Utah (2d) 257, 260-261, 265 Pac. (2d) 626 (1954). 2UOkla. Stat. Ann. tit. 82, § 27 (1970); S. Dak. Comp. Laws Ann. § 46-5-33 (1967); water for storage reservoirs excepted, N. Mex. Stat. Ann. § 75-5-21 (1968); in the manner provided in this chapter and not otherwise, Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.040 (Supp. 1969); as provided in this section, N. Dak. Cent. Code Ann. § 61-04-15 (Supp. 1969). 212 See thereunder "Appurtenant and not Generally Severable Without Loss of the Right." 213Hunziker v. Knowlton, 78 Wyo. 241, 249-251, 322 Pac. (2d) 141 (1958); Johnston v. Little Horse Creek Irrigating Co., 13 Wyo. 208, 226, 228, 79 Pac. 22 (1904). 214 Wyo. Stat. Ann. § § 41-2 and -37 (1957). |
