Complex sentence: A second context for the development of water law arises from disputes among private parties over the extent of their respective water rights; e.g., a landowner upstream seeks to cut off the flow of surface water downstream, and appropriate these surface waters for its exclusive use.
Split into simpler sentences: A second context for the development of water law arises from disputes among private parties over the extent of their respective water rights. A landowner upstream seeks to cut off the flow of surface water downstream, and appropriate these surface waters for its exclusive use.