Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

832
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
QROVER SELLERS
*TTORNLY GLNLRAL
ISonorrbla ~1ir.d X. 01~4a
ari8iiinrl~Dl~trl.t Attorney
Wrnat Oouaty
Tort vo:th, lwxa8
Augut’ll, 1946,
6 rlth rorpeot to
Tmrrat a0tifi
RlWW. 6om8
on tbr zo8t r
?a the liosnee
se r0r 8n opinion "88 to rten tha
rtmrm koonn part or 9 lukm, elthrr
nwther, your o~inloo a8 to tta,
z-d *inrpoundeQ~. . . . under the 8bore
OJ Aot8 47th &&i8httiM lSu, oh. 606, Ee 667,
8 lpO181 tbhiIl6 liOOa8. ~88 vWid8a for fi8hb6 io ltrk9
Worth ra& kglo ,#mataln I.&o, the pertbeat pro+i8t'Oa8
Or WhiOh 8I* CUOkd b0iONl
"&Otfi- ti n 8bUU b8 Mf8UfUffor WI7
,~0rioaqr4 tbm.8weotpqa y&r8 (7)of 8~
to tlihor ltuwt to h a & ln th e wekra et
tbrutb id th8 Qouaty W lwr8nt. or to
tl8h l 8tmt to.ti8b in tb0 m-8 Ot -dO
b@lurulo trko la tho Oountloo ot ,hrr8at mad
$iBO, without fir8t ObtrInb@ l irk0 worth-
frh ,ii8bia(11Oelr8.
m&?&O lbUll.taio . . . .”
-800th & ?U Ik -M ti -18 &@I
bk8 BUth 18 hUOby dOi- 80 8b8)
Of $h8 t@t?‘da Ot’th18 8t8U 06?0&
W8kr8 lt tha =Fllt ]rWk Of m bhloitf Rltu,
8#&dlt it8 trib&riOS, M$ *dOa br th0
zab.IkrCh D8a la *ma* musky,. hX88, Wh18b
n-8 8X.8 iB ?‘UE8nt aU!itr, wS88 . . . , ”
18 8 8U?m8t fim 8 h& hU k l u-r 101.1 4088 abt rUk0
th8t 8 rflU mbloh rod4 OthOrW180 ti 8 &ti, aOr boa8 8
lake lore it8 4l8tIaotIn ehrr8OtOr beooure a ourrent ex-
i8t8 iOr 8 Wt8b di8tIIllOO tOMh(r tOWI'd 8 TilOr 8t
1u outlet. B88tiO V. JWlk1n8, 101 P. 496; 64 S-8 8nd
Phrc(rerlm.
51th r9OpeOt to th0 8eOOd put Of your *uestiOn,
rhloh r) rqerd et oo:.trollIng here, ue or@ put to the ta8.4
of daters1al.n~the =#8nb~E O? Lb* k618bturS'8 dOSOSiptiV0
derinltionOS “I.aks q:orth’, a8 Ut Out HIStM 8iCSSMatiOaed
sea. 6, &I thee? nor48 - *that gorttoa of the turaln of
t&i8 stOt9 OOlOred by tb Iur8 Or th8 zO8t gork Of the
Trinity R1~0r, ln4 Of it8 t#ibIlt8?1~& 8ll4 iqwm4od by the
Lake morth 4~6 . . . . .*
Honorable Alfred :'.Clyde -
A thorough seoroh of the authorities failed to
reveal a legal detlnltlon Of the word "ImpOundad." Eow-
ever, the word i8 defined ln !-';ebster*e
unabridged dlotlon-
ary In the rollowing language: W2. To oolleot (water) ror
Irrigation purposes, or the like.*
It.is our opinion that water8 beaked up In the
channel by the Lake .,:rorth
Dam ars Impounded, vcithln the
meaning of the statute, ::henthe water level OS the lake
extend8 Into the ohannel of the river and thereby raises the
level of the water therein above its normal state as a Btream,
then the waters so raised are impounded by the Lake ::orthDarn.
Therefore, the extent of the iratersso impounded Is dependent
upon thr water lerel of the lake a8 It may ext8t from day to
day or the to time. To illa8tr8te: Ii the height or the
dsm 18 8urrioIent to baok water8 of the river up to the Eagle
Mountain Lake D8m, and doe8 do 80 at any tims, then at.suoh
tima all the waters between the two dams are Impounded, for
the water level OS Lake i4‘orththen lxtead8 from dam to dam.
Vhen ths water reoedes from Eagle Mountain Iake Dam with tha
fall of the water level In Lake Vorth 80 that tbere Is no
water impounded by Lake Worth for a di8tanoe below Eagle
Mountain Lake Dam, then that part of the river below said
dam In whioh no water is impounded Is not a part of Lake
Worth and it Is not a violation of the rtatute under oon-
sider8tIon to fish in raid water8 without 8 rpeolal Lake
'forth-58gleMounteIn Lake fishing license. Yhat wa bare
8aid 8bOla 8pplies to any other stream the waters of which
flow dlreotly Into Lake 7orth.
The foregoing ia our construction of.the statute
and the defInltlon of Lake ?orth a8 iound In Seotion 5 there-
of.
JLA:zd