City of Fairfield v. Dashiell

At all times in controversy herein, John W. Wheatley was the owner of a farm consisting of 357 acres. To the south thereof, with a highway intervening, the city of Fairfield was the owner of a quarter section of land. A small natural water course ran across the land of the city and Wheatley in a northerly and southerly direction.

In the spring of 1925, the city of Fairfield was desirous of creating a reservoir, known in the record as No. 3, for impounding water for use in its waterworks. The dam was constructed across said waterway at a point about 120 rods south of the highway, and was 175…