Herrington v. State Ex Rel. Office of the State Engineer

OPINION

BOSSON, Chief Justice.

{1} The Herringtons, long time irrigators in the Rio de Arenas Valley in southwestern New Mexico, applied to the New Mexico State Engineer for a supplemental well. The Herringtons claimed their surface right had been diminished by groundwater wells in the basin, having a priority date junior to the surface right of the Herringtons. Applying the principles of fairness that underscore the doctrine in Templeton v. Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District, 65 N.M. 59, 332 P.2d 465 (1958), the Herringtons sought to supplement their surface water rights with a well.

{2}…