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Home My WebLink About031 Email RE Ditch Abandonment<DDennehy@wgmgroup.com> Cc:mowtenvue@yahoo.com; danbevt@gmail.com; dwflikk@gmail.com; 'Rebecca Casey' <becki@fanninglawpllc.com> Subject: FW: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street [EXTERNAL EMAIL]Only open attachments or click on links from senders you trust. Ms. Connor, I am the legal counsel for the Farmers Canal Co. and Bill Tatarka forwarded me your email about the status of the W. Beall St. ditch. You asked if Farmers Canal Co. can confirm the abandonment of the ditch south of W. Beall St. First you must understand that Farmers Canao Co. diverts water in the SWSWSW of Section 11 3S 4E which is just north of Gallatin Gateway. Pursuant to the bylaws of the company, it is only responsible for the water as it travels though the main open part of the canal which essentially ends at Fowler Lane near Rosauers where the remainder of the ditch is piped under and along 19th St. Along the way there are dozens of historic laterals that divert water from the canal to the properties of the company shareholders. Some of these laterals are organized into ditch companies or associations but most are not. Farmers Canal Co. is not responsible in any way for any of the ditch laterals. There does appear to be a historic ditch or lateral near W. Beall St., however it is not the property of Farmers Canal Co. and the directors are not aware of anyone currently receiving water through that ditch. They have heard that in the spring there is water in that area that residents have blamed on the ditch—which may be more of a drainage issue than a water rights issue. The current board of directors can say that to the best of their knowledge, they are unaware of any water being delivered through that ditch in the last fifteen years. However, they are unwilling to state that the ditch or water use through that facility has been “abandoned.” Abandonment is a question of fact but also a legal determination that requires a showing of both non-use over a period of time as well as intent to abandon. While the former could be satisfied by fifteen years of non-use, creating a presumption of abandonment, the latter--proving that a water user intended to give up irrigating or using water-- is more complicated and frankly beyond the scope of the Company’s authority. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Bill William Fanning, Esq. Fanning Law PLLC 300 N Willson Ave Ste 3007 solsticedb.com Mail - FW: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=d1daa27080&view=pt&search=a... 2 of 4 7/20/2022, 5:35 PM Bozeman, MT 59715 william@fanninglawpllc.com 406.220.2805 This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that dissemination, distribution or forwarding this communication is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and delete this message from any device or media where it is stored. Thank you. From:bozemanfarm@yahoo.com <bozemanfarm@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2022 3:00 PM To: William Fanning <william@fanninglawpllc.com> Subject: Fw: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Lexi Connor <lconnor@wgmgroup.com> To:bozemanfarm@yahoo.com <bozemanfarm@yahoo.com> Cc: Gary Fox <gfox@wgmgroup.com>; Derek Dennehy <ddennehy@wgmgroup.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 12:04:52 PM MDT Subject: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street Hi Bill, I am with WGM Group in Bozeman. We have a project on Beall Street where we need your input on the ditch to the south of the subject property to use for our easement exhibits. I have attached an existing conditions map, our preliminary exhibit map, a google earth link of the property, as well as the cadastral image. Gary Fox had spoken with you on this topic a while back and said that you thought it was an abandoned ditch – we are hoping to get email confirmation from you if that is the case. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. We look forward to hearing back from you! Thank you, solsticedb.com Mail - FW: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=d1daa27080&view=pt&search=a... 3 of 4 7/20/2022, 5:35 PM Lexi Connor Staff Engineer M: 406-439-0866 O: 406-728-4611 109 East Main Street, Suite B Bozeman, Montana 59715 www.wgmgroup.com 2 attachments 210902_10FtUtilityEasement.pdf 459K 210902_10FtDrainageEasement.pdf 364K solsticedb.com Mail - FW: Ditch Info Request on Beall Street https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=d1daa27080&view=pt&search=a... 4 of 4 7/20/2022, 5:35 PM