Section 72-5-20 - Headgates and measuring devices. - New Mexico Statutes

72-5-20. Headgates and measuring devices.

Every ditch owner shall, when requested to do so by the state engineer, construct and maintain a substantial headgate at the point where the water is diverted, and shall construct a measuring device, of a design approved by the state engineer, at the most practical point or points for measuring and apportioning the water as determined by the state engineer. The state engineer may order the construction of such device by the ditch owner and, if not completed within twenty days thereafter, refuse to deliver water to such owner. The taking of the water by such ditch owner, after refusal by the state engineer to deliver water to him until the construction of such device and the approval thereof by the state engineer, shall be a misdemeanor. Such devices shall be so arranged that they can be locked in place, and when locked by the state engineer or his authorized agent, for the measurement or apportionment of water, it shall be a misdemeanor for any unauthorized person to interfere with, disturb or change the same.