Max E. Turner v. Kings River Conservation District

This litigation arises out of the operation of the Pine Flat dam and reservoir, built by the United States on the Kings River in California pursuant to the Flood Control Act of 1944, 58 Stat. 901 . Plaintiffs, appellants here, claim rights under state law to use Kings River water on their riparian and overlying lands. Four of the defendant-appellees are employees of the Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers and are responsible for storing and releasing waters at Pine Flat dam. The remaining defendant-appellees claim rights under state law to use Kings River water on non-riparian lands on the basis of appropriation. Appellants alleged that the appellee government employees and appel-lee water appropriators stored and released water at Pine Flat dam in such a way as to interfere with appellants’ riparian water rights. They sought an injunction. The district court dismissed the action on the complaint alone. We affirm.

Appellants attempted to state three causes of action.

The first cause of action named only the appellee government officials as defendants. It alleged that Pine Flat dam was owned by the United States and was operated by the defendant officials. It alleged…