Sumner Lumber & Shingle Co. v. Pacific Coast Power Co.

Citations

• 72 Wash. 631
• 131 P. 220
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 1528

Syllabus

<p>Navigable Waters — Navigable or Floatable Streams — Evidence —Sufficiency. A stream that is navigable or floatable for shingle bolts only by artificial means, is not a public highway; and a stream is not navigable where it appears that drives required the assistance of men and teams in breaking up jams, opening new channels and keeping bolts from lodging, that no drives had been made without the use of the banks, and that few if any bolts could be brought down by natural means.</p> <p>Same — Riparian Rights — Use of Waters — Injunction. The right to use a stream for floating logs is correlative with the right of a power company to use the water for power purposes, and as each right must be used with due regard to the other, an injunction against all use of the water cannot be sustained.</p> <p>Same — Evidence—Meander. The fact that a stream is not meandered by the public survey does not establish its character as a navigable or nonnavigable stream.</p> <p>Waters and Water Courses — Riparian Rights — Flow and Use. The use of the waters of a stream for power purposes in no way infringes upon the rights of one who has acquired the timber on riparian lands, where such use does not interfere to any extent with the flow of the water to which the land is entitled.</p> <p>Same. A lower riparian proprietor cannot insist that there be no diminution whatever of the natural flow of the stream, as each owner is entitled to a reasonable and proper use.</p> <p>Same — Appropriation—Priority. The rights of an appropriator of water for power purposes relate back to the first substantial act for the acquisition of the right if followed up with reasonable diligence, and are superior to the rights of an owner of land which subsequently became riparian by a change in the course of the stream.</p> <p>Navigable Waters — Floatability—Evidence. The navigability of streams for floating shingle bolts is not determined by the size of the stream, but by their capacity for valuable public use