WATER STORAGE ON SWEETWATER AND SAN JACINTO RIVERS. 387 



tract shall, at the option of the party of the first part, be and become entirely null and void, and the 

 party of the first part shall have the right to shut off and cease to deliver said water; or the party of 

 the first part may at its option, enforce this contract by action to collect the sums due, and the enforce- 

 ment of its lien therefor upon said lands, and in case it so elects to enforce this contract the failure to 

 pay any of the sums falling due for said water right or any part thereof, shall render the whole amount 

 of all of the payments therefor immediately due and collectible. 



It is further stipulated and agreed that no assignment of this contract shall be valid except the 

 same be made with the conveyance of, and to the owners in fee simple of, said real estate, and that 

 any person to whom this contract is assigned, or said real estate and water right conveyed, his or her 

 heirs and assigns shall become personally liable to pay the amounts agreed by this contract to be paid. 



And any assignment or conveyance of this contract or the water right herein sold, to any person 

 not the owner in fee simple of said real estate, shall Ije absolutely void, and any such assignment or 

 conveyance shall forfeit all rights imder this contract; and the party of the first part may, immediately, 

 shut off and cease to furnish water under this agreement. 



In witness whereof the parties have hereunto set their hands and seals this day of , 



18—. 



This form of contract was satisfactorj' to all parties concerned, until its validit}'^ 

 was brought in question by the decision of the United States circuit court, referred to 

 in the chapter on litigation. Since that decision was rendered no further water rights 

 have been sold. 



The rates for the sale or delivery of water are fixed by the citj' council of 

 National CitA*, and specify in detail the various uses of domestic water supply and 

 the rate for each, which are about the same as the average rates in cities and towns. 

 In addition to these rates, the ordinance provides an irrigation rate, to be applied to 

 all tracts over 2^ acres in area, of $3.50 per acre per annum, based on a maximum 

 use of 350,000 gallons (1.07 acre-feet per acre), with meter rates of 1 cent per 1,000 

 gallons for water so used. The meter rates for domestic water are 30 cents per 1.000 

 gallons. 



Practically the same rates are collected outside of National CitA', in the remainder 

 of the sj'stem, although as heretofore stated the company has been endeavoring to 

 enforce the collection of higher rates on the ground that the old rates did not afford 

 any adequate return upon the capital invested. These higher rates are resisted by 

 the consumers, and the United States circuit court and the United States Supreme 

 Court sustain the company in the contention that they should have adequate rates, but 

 leave the companj' in the hands of the supervisors, who have confirmed the old rates, 

 which the compan}- are again contesting in the courts in a suit to set aside the ordi- 

 nance of the supervisors. 



The application for water made to the companj- by the consumer is written 

 out on blank forms, reciting the rate to be paid for each class of domestic service 

 and for irrigation, describing the land and the location of the tap. This application 

 constitutes a contract and a promise to paj^ the rate so designated quarterly in 

 advance. The company also issues a book of rules and regulations governing the 

 water supply, of which rule No. 1 states that "the following regulations shall be 

 considered a part of the contract with every person who takes water," etc. These 

 rules are 17 in number, and laj' down certain stipulations regarding the mutual 

 relations of the conipanj' and the consumer, which could not so well be expressed in 

 the contmct. 



