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Show NEW MEXICO 525 Existing rights based on the application of the water to a bene- ficial use prior to 1931 are recognized, and users may file a declara- tion with the State engineer setting forth the details of the right being claimed.128 Subject to certain statutory conditions, the owner of a water right may drill a replacement or supplemental well.129 A landowner who lawfully initiated a ground water right and com- pleted the development of his project with reasonable diligence ac- quired a water right with a priority dating from the beginning of his work, notwithstanding the fact that his lands were incorpo- rated into a declared basin prior to the completion of his work.130 New Mexico regulates water well drilling in the State. It is unlawful to drill for water from an underground source, the bound- aries of which have been determined and proclaimed by the State engineer, without obtaining a license from the engineer. Well drillers must be bonded.131 This act was held to be a valid exercise of the police power of the State and did not violate the landowner's con- stitutional rights.132 The engineer is authorized to enjoin unlawful acts under the statute. Artesian waters-which have been declared to be public waters- are under the control and supervision of the State engineer, although in areas where artesian conservancy districts have been organized, such districts have concurrent power with the State engineer to enforce regulation and conservation of these waters. The act govern- ing artesian wells also contains specific provisions relating to the use of artesian wells, which are designed to prevent waste of water from such wells.133 With regard to adjudication of ground water rights, the New Mexico court has upheld the application of the surface water adjudi- cation procedures to a ground water basin.134 Publications Available Institution for water resource research: Water Resources Research Institute New Mexico State University P. O. Box 3167 Las Cruces, N. Mex. 88001 505-646-4337 Publications Hutching, The New Mexico Law of Water Rights (1955). Clark, New Mexico Water Law Since 1955, 2 Nat. Res. J. 484 (1962). Flint, Groundwater Law and Administration: A New Mexico Viewpoint, 14 Rocky Mtn. M.L. Inst. 545 (1968). Waltersheid, Smith and Utton, Existing Legislation and Proposed Model Flood Plain Ordinance for New Mexico Municipalities, 7 Nat. Res. J. 629 (1969). Note, Control of Industrial Water Pollution in New Mexico, 9 Nat. Res. J. 653 (1969). Note, Water Law-The Effect of Acts of the Sovereign on the Pueblo Rights Doctrine in New Mexico, 8 Nat. Res. J. 727 (1968). Note, Water Law-The Rise and Fall of New Mexico's Templeton Doctrine, 6 Nat. Res. J. 325 (1966). Harris, New Mexico's Role in the Development of the Law of Underground Water, 31 Dicta 41-50 (1954). 128 New Mexico Stat., sees. 75-11-4, 75-11-5. i» New Mexico Stat., sees. 75-11-24, 25. wo Reynolds v. Mendenhall, 68 N. Mex. 467, 362 P. 2d 998 (1961). «! New Mexico Stat., sees. 75-11-13 to 75-11-18. ^State v. Myers, 64 N. Mex. 186, 326 P. 2d 1075 (1958). i»New Mexico Stat., sees. 75-12-1 to 75-12-12. ^ State ex rel. Reynolds v. Sharp, 66 N. Mex. 192, 344 P. 2d 943 (1959). |
