Opinion ID: 1695386
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Effect of Cancellation of Water Rights

Text: The Crouses argue that they have a clear right to have their land excluded from the District because the District has denied their requests for water. They base their argument on State ex rel. Blome v. Bridgeport Irr. Dist., 205 Neb. 97, 286 N.W.2d 426 (1979), in which we affirmed a peremptory writ of mandamus requiring an irrigation district to deliver water to the highest point on a landowner's land so as to allow all of his property within the district to be irrigated. We rejected a defense that the landowner had lost his water rights for the tracts in question, noting that the Department had original and exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate water rights pertaining to irrigation and that there was no evidence that the Department had ever suspended or canceled any of the landowner's water rights. We concluded that the irrigation district had no power to cancel or terminate the landowner's water rights and that it could not suspend delivery of water except for nonpayment of taxes and assessments, as provided by statute and the bylaws of the district. Based upon State ex rel. Blome, the Crouses argue that if the District cannot meet its obligation to provide water to their property, it has a clear duty to exclude the property from the District. However, this case is distinguishable from State ex rel. Blome because of the 1997 cancellation of the Crouses' water rights by the Department pursuant to § 46-229.04(2). The cancellation was based in part upon evidence that the Crouses chose not to use water available from the District for irrigation when they acquired the property from FmHA. The District has not refused to provide water as in State ex rel. Blome, but, rather, is legally prevented from doing so because of the cancellation of water rights due at least in part to the Crouses' own voluntary decision not to exercise their rights. Thus, State ex rel. Blome provides no support for the Crouses' argument that the District has a clear duty to either provide water or exclude their land from its boundaries.