There are two different sets of water law. One East and the other West.
West the people staked a claim on a certain amount of water, first come
first served, and if you were second and the water level was low enough that
it did not fill firsts claim, the water could not be taken, even if it runs
through your property. East water law says you can dam it up, but you
cannot divert it. It still has to go down the same stream that it would
have gone down to start with. That law is routinely broken, in that cities
take water from the up stream area of the river, divert it through the water
treatment system, and it finds its way back into the stream at the sewage
treatment facility, down stream.

Is your neighbor diverting it around your pond, such that you don't get the
benefit of the water? If so, then I would say you have a claim. Were you
diverting it from its normal stream? If so, then you do not have a claim.
Is he just slowing down the flow, by using part of it, or creating his own
pond, but it finds itself back into the pond, through percolation, or once
his pond is full? Then you do not have a claim.

This is the way understand the water laws of the US, but my education on
these is almost 40 years old.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"janet" wrote in message
om...
hi,
i have a two acre neighborhood pond partially fed by a spring that
flows into my pond. the pond is about 6 years old. my neighbor began
diverting the spring water away from the intake pipe to the pond. i
can't call the county today but was just wondering if anyone is aware
of laws of diverting water?
thanks!
janet