2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 309 - Water appurtenant to land; penalty for unlawful alienation; judicial remedies

The right to use the water of the said irrigation system shall be inalienably appurtenant to the lands included in the temporary or permanent irrigation district, and shall pass with the title to the said lands or to any part thereof, to all subsequent owners thereof, and the owner or owners of the said tracts of land shall be prohibited from the sale or disposition of any of the water furnished to their lands, as a thing independent therefrom, to any other person or persons, or corporations whatever, under penalty of having the said lands excluded from the benefits of the irrigation system.
In case this provision is violated, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico, or his agent, is hereby authorized to shut off the water improperly diverted from the land to which is appurtenant immediately upon the discovery of such violation, and due notice shall immediately be given to the owner or lessees of such land, stating the reasons why the water was shut off; and the water shall remain shut off from such lands until the owner or lessee shall have satisfied the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico that such violations will not recur or until otherwise ordered by the court; Provided, however, That nothing in §§ 301—315 of this title shall prevent the proper distribution of water by rotation among the various tracts of land through any canal or lateral, and that should any owner or lessee of such land believe himself aggrieved by the refusal of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico to furnish water, such owner or lessee may bring action in the part of the Court of First Instance in which the said lands are situated to compel the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico to turn the water onto the land; Provided, further, That in case an action shall be brought by a lessee of any land or lands, as provided in this paragraph, the owner of the said land or lands shall not be bound by the decision of the said court unless the said owner was a party to the suit, but such owner may be made a party, either plaintiff or defendant, to such a suit either upon his own motion, that of the said lessee, or that of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and Provided, also, That in case the court upholds the plaintiff the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico shall immediately turn on the water upon receipt of notice from the court; and Provided, further, That the foregoing provisions shall not prevent the owner or lessee of land within the temporary or permanent irrigation district, with the approval of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, from using the water appurtenant to a particular tract of land upon any other tract of land owned or leased by him within the temporary or permanent irrigation district; and such use of the water shall in no event free the land to which it is appurtenant from any liability to assessment therefor; and also Provided, further, That the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works may sell or lease water controlled by the Irrigation Service and in excess of the water required by law on the lands in the temporary or permanent irrigation district for the irrigation of lands either within or without the temporary or permanent irrigation district, or for domestic or other purposes, and the proceeds of such sales or leases shall be applied to the decrease of annual assessments.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall not be required to deliver water to which any land is entitled hereunder, except to the outer boundaries of the said land or such canals and ditches belonging to such land as the owner thereof shall direct, if practicable, subject, however, to such rules and regulations relative to the place, time and conditions of delivery of the said water as may be prescribed by the Irrigation Commission, or, after the adjournment of the said Irrigation Commission, as may be from time to time prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works; Provided, however, That the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works may, at the request of the owner or lessee of any land to which any water is appurtenant, and provided the same is equally convenient or the owner or lessee of such land pays any additional expenses thereby caused, deliver such water or any portion thereof, at any other place or to any other land.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 34, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.