Colket v. Verner

Citations

• 236 Pa. 285
• 84 A. 775
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 748

Syllabus

<p>Waters — Rights of upper riparian owner — Damming stream— Equity.</p> <p>1. As against a lower riparian owner, the owner of the lands higher up the stream has the right to have the waters of the stream flow over the lands as they would naturally flow. The lower owner has no right to obstruct the flow of the stream by a dam so as to flood the land of the upper owner, or to raise the level of the water in its bed to his detriment.</p> <p>2. Equity will relieve against the obstruction of a stream by the owner of lower land to the injury of the owner of upper land bordering upon it.</p> <p>3. Where the trustee of an estate permits a person to occupy land until sold, and such person makes no objection to the backing up of water upon the land because of a dam constructed by a lower riparian owner, and the trustees have no knowledge of the construction of the dam, a purchaser of the land from the trustees has the right to maintain a bill in equity to enjoin the flooding of his land, notwithstanding the acquiescence of the former occupant.</p> <p>4. An upper riparian owner may maintain a bill in equity against a lower riparian owner to restrain the maintenance of a dam which was flooding his lands, although he may at one time have polluted the stream with oil and gasoline from his garage, if it appears that as soon as he learned of such pollution he resorted to measures which completely abated the nuisance. The rules that he who would have equity must do equity, and that he who comes into equity must come with clean hands, do not apply to such a case.</p>