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Show THE RIPARIAN RIGHT 47 Riparian Lands Determination of Rights in Land Obviously, the rights that are embraced in the word "land" are determined by the applicable law in the jurisdiction in which the land is situated.243 In the Los Angeles case, the California Supreme Court was concerned with the relative superiority of pueblo rights and riparian rights. However, the court led up to the above statement about "land" and the law of the jurisdiction by pointing out the well-known principle that the right of an owner of riparian land to have the stream flow to his land without material diminution in quantity (which may accrue.;, to the patentee of lands situated in a jurisdiction in which the English common law doctrine of riparian ownership may prevail to the full extent) would not accrue in an arid region of a western State in which irrigation is necessary to successful agriculture, and in which the original rule has been so modified by the State law as to allow a riparian proprietor to divert and use a reasonable amount of the water for irrigating his riparian land. Extent of Lands Having Riparian Status In California, where the question has been considerably litigated, it is well settled that the extent of lands having riparian status is determined by three criteria: (1) The land in question must be contiguous to or abut upon the stream, except in those cases in which the right has been reserved in parcels that have become noncontiguous by reason of subdivision of the land or partition (see "Property Characteristics-Preservation of Riparian Right on Change of Title to Land," above); (2) the riparian right extends only to the smallest tract held under one title in the chain of title leading to the present owner; and (3) the land, in order to be riparian, must be within the watershed of the stream.244 In the Rancho Santa Margarita case, the California Supreme Court said further that "In determining the riparian status of land the same rules apply regardless of the size of the tract, the extent of the watershed or the amount of the run off." Whether there is sufficient water in the stream for the riparian needs of any party has no bearing whatever in determining whether a particular tract is riparian. 243Los Angeles v. Los Angeles Farming & Mill. Co., 152 Cal. 645, 649-650, 93 Pac. 869, 1135 (1908). For purposes of taxation, riparian rights acquired from riparian owners in California are land within the meaning of Cal. Const, art. XIII, § 1. San Francisco v. Alameda County, 5 Cal. (2d) 243, 245-247, 54 Pac. (2d) 462 (1936). 244Rancho Santa Margarita v. Vail, 11 Cal. (2d) 501, 528-529, 534, 81 Pac. (2d) 533 (1938). |
