The Glenwood post., 1907-09-28


ter from Grizzly and Noname creeks, in
full. 1t follows:
600 10000 o Q Q o Q o o . Q
o State of Colorado,l Q
Q County of Eagle,) .
o In the District Court. Q
{. In the matter of the application of Q
O the Glcnwood Light and Power .
o company, a corporation, for the Q
(! adjudication of its priority of g,
o rights to the use of water for o
@ domestic and other purposes, .
o from Grizzly creek in water dis Q
o trict No. 53, Eagle county, Colo o
O RADIO. Q
600 o 20 o o o o o G, o - o o o Q
In my opinion the right to appro-
priation, or the right to carry, or the
right of user, or the right to deliver.
whatever you choose to call it, it is
unimportant what, lies inthe ditch or
water company, as | intimated during
Mr.. Ewing S argument. To hold other
wise would. in my opinion. ruin the
state of Colorado. The largest enter
priscs in the state, and the only enter
priscs upon which the state can expect
to be perpetually prosperous, are the
ditch companies, those companies which
are formed for the purpose of storing
70 70 lnuu 4 ct m n
a 1 deliver it to those people who de
sire it. If the ditch company or water
company, or whatever you choose to
call it, cannot make an appropriation,
chascrs of land are valueIcss, because
without an appropriation there is no
priority. The whole scheme and system
of our water rights, as ! understand
them, are based upon that theory, and
| shall so hold.
In equity under any circumstances
. the town of Glenwood Springs has no
rights to this water, for if, as a matter
of law it belonged to them in equity,
they are estOpped to assert any right.
If they were the owners of this water
they We're in partnership with the wa
ter company, then in all honesty they
should have bought the system of the
water company, rather than go off in
1901 and start an opposition plant.
That would not appeal to me in any cir
cumstances.
The facts in this ease arc This com
pany was formed in 1855 for the pun
pose of furnishing water to Glenwoo |
and the vicinity, the water to be taken
from Noname creek, and as provided
in It's articles of incorporation, if the
water flowing in that stream was not
sufficient, then to take such further
quantity of water as might be requires
from Grizzly creek. Pursuant to the
articles of incorporation and the con-
tracts and franchises, whatever you
choose to call them, that were entered
into and granted to it by the city, the
water company constructed this plant
" .NpHdllt FItth III 1900, az ltdSI
started it in 1887 and completed it in
1888.
The city at various times since that
has had a right and option to forfeit or
terminate the contract. 1t has not
. done SO, and in fact renewed the con-
Sract in 1904 for some ten or twenty
years.
In 1889 the company, thinking per
haps it might desire to use more water
than was flowing in Noname creek,
erected dam in Grizzly creek for the
scheme was not carried out at that
time.
In 1901 the city council and mayor
of Glenwood Springs, in tne;r wis0oI~
deemed it best to inaugurate an inde-
pendent city plant, and for that pnr-
pose they started an appropriation of
water of Grizzly creek and filed the
plats which were required by the stat
ute in the office of the county clerk of
Garfield county, and also with the state
engineer. ! believe that is admitted, in
the statements or Arguments, although |
do not know whether they are filed herr
or not; believe they are. They spent
during that year about $500 in sur.
vcving and building road. In 1902
they spent another $4,000 in expendl
lures of that sort, and in 1908 they did
nothing of any moment. In 1904, Jan
uarv 3, / believe, there was a special
meeting of the city council called for
the purpose. as they termed it, of edo
ing assessment work on the ditch
right and resolution was passed
authorizing Mr.. Morrell to do $4,000
worth of work for the purpose Of doing