Bristow

This is an appeal from a decree awarding mandatory relief from a public nuisance caused by the pollution of the water of an irrigation ditch which extends through a portion of the City of Turlock.

For more than twenty years the defendants held an easement in the use of water for irrigation purposes which flowed in a ditch extending through the westerly portion of the City of Turlock. Originally this ditch which was constructed with dirt embankments, was entirely uninclosed by culverts or conduits. The ditch was ten or fifteen feet in width and several feet in depth. It extended through a somewhat populous portion of the city for a distance of sixteen blocks. At points where it intersected or traversed streets the city authorities at great cost constructed concrete culverts, installed thirty-inch water-pipes and inverted siphons beneath the pavements. Nevertheless, this ditch for nearly one-half the distance traversed within the city limits remained open and unprotected. These uncovered portions became overgrown with vegetation and obstructed by an accumulation of debris so that the water was polluted and unsanitary.

The complaint alleged facts constituting a public nuisance and…