2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 73 - Special Districts
Article 17 - Conservancy Districts; General Provisions
Section 73-17-21 - Prescription and adverse possession.
The rights of the district to the waters of the district, or the use thereof, or the land within the district and property owned by it shall not be lost by the district by prescription or by adverse possession, or for nonuse of the waters.
History: Laws 1927, ch. 45, § 908; C.S. 1929, § 30-908; 1941 Comp., § 77-3021; 1953 Comp., § 75-31-21.
ANNOTATIONSDistrict may not lose priority rights over other users by nonuse. — In a prior appropriation system, the right to use a certain quantity of water is inextricably linked to the priority date of that right; therefore the section precludes a claim of abandonment of a conservancy district's priority rights over other users of the same stream by reason of nonuse. City of Raton v. Vermejo Conservancy Dist., 1984-NMSC-037, 101 N.M. 95, 678 P.2d 1170.
Section does not deny equal protection. — The legislature's distinction between conservancy districts and other appropriators, with respect to the loss of water rights through nonuse, is neither unreasonable nor arbitrary and thus this section does not deny equal protection. City of Raton v. Vermejo Conservancy Dist., 1984-NMSC-037, 101 N.M. 95, 678 P.2d 1170.
Law reviews. — For article, "Possible Solutions: Policy Tools to Achieve Flexibility to Meet New Conditions, Preliminary Thoughts for Coping with Future Droughts," see 39 Nat. Resources J. 175 (1999).
