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Show ABANDONMENT AND STATUTORY FORFEITURE 297 Utah.-When an appropriator, or his successor in interest, abandons or ceases to use water for 5 years, the right shall cease. Such unused water reverts to the public and is again subject to appropriation. The statute provides procedures for an extension of time, not to exceed an additional 5 years, which may be granted by the State Engineer upon a showing of reasonable cause, for nonuse of the water.237 "The provisions of this section are applicable whether such unused or abandoned water is permitted to run to waste or is used by others without right."238 The Utah Supreme Court held that statutory forfeiture requires a continuous 5-year period during which failure to make use of water takes place.239 Washington- Washington legislation enacted in 1967 provides that any person entitled to divert or withdraw waters of the State through any appropriation authorized by legislation prior to the enactment of chapter 117, Laws 1917, or by custom or general adjudication, or any "person hereafter [after July 1, 1967] entitled to divert or withdraw waters of the state through an appropriation authorized under" the pertinent statutes who voluntarily fails, without sufficient cause,240 to beneficially use all or any part of such right for any period of 5 successive years after the effective date of the act (July 1,1967), shall relinquish such right or portion thereof, which shall revert to the State and the affected waters become available for appropriation.241 Certain uses of water relating to power development, reserve supplies, determined future developments, municipal supplies, and waters not subject to appropria- tion are expressly exempted from these provisions.242 However, certain actions water is again subject to appropriation under the statutory procedure. This is discussed at notes 336-338 infra. 237Utah Code Ann. § 73-1-4 (1968), discussed in Baugh v. Criddle, 19 Utah (2d) 361, 431 Pac. (2d) 790 (1967). The statute defines reasonable cause for nonuse as "Financial crisis, industrial de- pression, operation of legal proceedings or other unavoidable cause, or the holding of a water right without use by any municipality, metropolitan water districts or other public agencies to meet the reasonable future requirements of the public * * *." 238Utah Code Ann. §73-1-4 (1968). Regarding this provision, see the later discussion pertaining to Utah under "Prescription-Establishment of Prescriptive Title-Possibility of Establishing Prescriptive Water Right Negated or Questioned-Negations." 239Rocky Ford Irr. Co. v. Rents Lake Res. Co., 104 Utah 216, 218, 140 Pac. (2d) 638 (1943). 240 Sufficient cause is defined as drought or other unavailability of water, service in the armed forces during a military crisis, nonvoluntary service in the armed forces, opera- tion of legal proceedings, or Federal laws imposing land or water use restrictions, acreage limitations, or production quotas. Wash. Rev. Code §90.14.140 (Supp. 1970). M1Jd. §§90.14.160 and 90.14.180. Section 90.14.170, containing similar language re- lating to rights to divert or withdraw State waters by virtue of ownership of land abut- ting a stream, lake, or watercourse is noted under "Rights Subject to Forfeiture-Gen- erally. not riparian rights," supra. The other portions of these three statutes are noted in the subtopics "Rights in Watercourses Subject to Abandonment" and "Some Statutory Provisions" under "Abandonment," supra. 242 Wash. Rev. Code §90.14.140 (Supp. 1970). |
