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Show ELEMENTS OF THE APPROPRIATIVE RIGHT 553 Mutual irrigation companies reached their major importance in Utah, southern California, and eastern Colorado. Public nonprofit enterprises.-These consist of districts, municipalities,574 and other public agencies and entities. All of the contiguous Western States have general statutes governing the organization and operation of irrigation districts, which are public, quasi- municipal corporations, political subdivisions of a State. Some such district- are created by special act of the legislature. Despite its vicissitudes, including heavy losses of invested capital in many areas and during various periods, the irrigation district was a major factor in attracting private capital to the irrigation development of the West. As against the financial failures, there were and are many outstanding successes. In addition, there are other types of water districts (water control and improvement districts, water conservancy districts, metropolitan water dis- tricts, etc.), water authorities comprising entire watersheds, and other political subdivisions concerned primarily with water supply. The West is dotted with such public agencies and entities. A political entity authorized by the legislature to embrace a vast area, for multiple purposes, empowered to issue bonds, and with broad powers of taxation, can have a potent influence on the water economy of the region. Private profit enterprises.-These are the commercial irrigation companies. In the last part of the 19th century, they were organized on a considerable scale in various parts of the West for the purpose of building and operating irrigation works for the profit of persons who provided the capital and undertook to retain temporary or permanent ownership of the irrigation system. Thus, with respect to ownership of irrigation facilities, commercial companies differed from both public districts and private mutual companies, in that the latter two groups comprise nonprofit, cooperative enterprises under local ownership and control.S7S The two types of commercial irrigation companies formed solely for operational purposes (as distinguished from the construction or development companies) consisted of (a) private contract companies for the service of selected consumers, and (b) public utility companies intended to serve all applicants within the service area to the extent of the water supply-that is, the public. These enterprises in the (b) group, then, are privately owned but are engaged in service to the public. S74For discussions of municipalities in their various relationships to water rights problems, see, in chapter 7, "Who May Appropriate Water" and "Methods of Appropriating Water of Watercourses-Restrictions and Preferences in Appropriation of Water- Preferences in Water Appropriations," and in this chapter, "Elements of the Appropriative Right-Purpose of Use of Water." 575 Ownership of properties of an irrigation district may be held to be in the public or in the State, depending upon the legal questions involved, but control is vested in representatives selected by the local community. |