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Show 702 TEXAS Texas streams have apparently been regularly denied because most rivers have been fully appropriated. The basic 1917 legislation has been modified several times over the years. The permit system, which seems to be the exclusive method of acquiring an appropriation right, has been strengthened. From this brief history, it should be clear that in recent years Texas has struggled with the existence of a conglomeration of water rights stemming from various sources. Thus, there may be riparian rights; apropriation rights under the 1889 and 1895 statutes (some of which were not preserved by recording under the 1913 act); certi- fied fiilings under the 1913 act; and permits issued under the 1913 and 1917 acts, and amendatory statutes. Modern management of water resources requires a system in which the existence of ancient water rights can be determined with some finality. Under statutes enacted since 1953, the State has inaugurated a program of canceling unused appropriation rights in order to establish an up-to-date record of outstanding valid water rights. The Texas Supreme Court has upheld this legislation in a decision which may well be the most im- portant Texas water case in many years. This decision and legislation, along with the 1967 Water Eights Adjudication Act, is discussed in section 3.4, infra. 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control 2.1 Administration of Water Rights™ The "permit system" as a means of acquiring an appropriation right was established in Texas in the 1913 water law which abandoned the older map and affidavit procedure. It is presumably the exclusive method of acquiring an appropriation right in the State. The system gives an administartiye agency of the State the authority to pass upon competing applications for permits. State supervision means that all appropriations become a matter of record, and investors in water projects have some security in the knowledge that their priori- ties are matters of record, and they have documentary evidence of the requirements established by the agency for the proposed construc- tion and time of completion. The administration of the system in Texas has been at various times delegated to the State board of engineers, the Texas Water Commission, and, at the present time, to the State water rights commission . In Texas, the water rights commission consists of only three members who are appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, and who must come from different sections of the State. Their terms are 6 years, and they are required by law to have "some knowledge of water law" and to be "knowledgeable" of the water- courses in the State and the needs of the State concerning use, stor- age, and conservation of water. The commission is empowered to appoint an executive director, who is the chief administrative officer of the commission. The staff con- sists also of hydrologists and other specialists in the field of water 18 See, generally, sees. 6.011 to 6.105. |
