Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties W. I. Dist. No. 1 v. State

• Decision Date: 30 October 1929
• Docket Number: (No. 8339.)
• Citation: 21 S.W.2d 747
• Parties: BEXAR-MEDINA-ATASCOSA COUNTIES WATER IMPROVEMENT DIST. NO. 1 v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

21 S.W.2d 747

BEXAR-MEDINA-ATASCOSA COUNTIES WATER IMPROVEMENT DIST. NO. 1 v. STATE.

(No. 8339.)

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. San Antonio.

October 30, 1929.

Rehearing Denied November 20, 1929.

Appeal from District Court, Medina County; L. J. Brucks, Judge.

Suit by the State against the Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties Water Improvement District No. 1. Judgment in favor of plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed and rendered.

Templeton, Brooks, Napier & Brown, of San Antonio, for appellant.

D. C. Brown, of Devine, and DeMontel & Fly, of Hondo, for the State.

FLY, C. J.

This suit was instituted by appellee, the state of Texas, against appellant, Bexar-Medina-Atascosa counties water improvement district No. 1, to recover taxes for the years 1926, 1927, and 1928, alleged to be due the state and Medina county, aggregating $56,987.15, together with penalties and costs; said taxes having been assessed against lands used for the dam sites, canals, reservoirs, and other purposes for which said district was organized. It is alleged that on or about December 30, 1924, an order was made by the state board of engineers, on petition for an election to create the water improvement district and the election of five directors, which election resulted, according to a canvass of the votes made by the county judge of Medina county, in all 9 votes cast in Bexar county, all 30 votes cast in Medina, and all 9 votes cast in Atascosa county, being in favor of the creation of the district and in favor of the five directors, R. U. Atkins, G. S. Lawrence, B. F. Brewer, Ernest Brown, and W. R. King.

Appellant presented a general demurrer and special exception to the petition, which were overruled by the court, and judgment was rendered for appellee for $57,514.78, and a lien for that sum was foreclosed upon the property of appellant.

In the vast domain of the state of Texas, there are many acres of rich and productive land, especially in the northwestern, western, and southwestern portions, that do not receive sufficient rain to mature the varied crops that can be produced thereon. Much of the portions of Texas mentioned have been blessed, not only with rich soils, but with a splendid climate, conducive to human health and comfort. The variety of crops range from wheat and other small grain in the northern portions to citrus fruit, cotton, onions, all kinds of vegetables, and melons in the more southern parts; this vast territory ranging in climate from snow and ice to a favored spot where frost rarely comes, and where vegetation flourishes from January to January. All that is needed in this vast territory is a certain source for obtaining an adequate supply of water. Recognizing the potentialities of the territory mentioned, and finding no sufficient constitutional authority for storing and distributing the waters of the state, in 1904 the Legislature submitted an amendment to the people of the state authorizing any political division or defined district to authorize, by a two-thirds vote, the issuance of bonds, within certain defined limits, and levy and collect taxes to pay the interest thereon and provide a sinking fund for the redemption thereof, as the Legislature may authorize; such funds to be used for the following purposes: "(a) The improvement of rivers, creeks, and streams to prevent overflows, and to permit of navigation thereof or irrigation thereof, or in aid of such purposes. (b) The construction and maintenance of pools, lakes, reservoirs, dams, canals and waterways for the purposes of irrigation, drainage or navigation, or in aid thereof." Article 3, § 52, Constitution of Texas.

Under that constitutional provision and the Amendment of 1917 (article 16, § 59, as added in 1917), many water districts have been organized, causing the "Valley of the Rio Grande" to so develop as to become the marvel of the country, and other places such as the "Winter Garden District," the country about Laredo, Eagle Pass, and Del Rio, besides other territory, to constantly grow in wealth from the development of the resources of the soil. The wisdom of the amendments to the Constitution is being fully vindicated in increased population, and in the value of land, and the marvelous progress in wealth and advancement along the lines of modern civilization, and in a vast increase in taxable values in all counties affected by the amendments. No one can deny or minimize the blessing arising from the conservation and proper distribution of the waters of Texas under the amendments, and the statutes enacted by authority thereof, and most citizens will oppose with vigor any acts by state, county, or individuals, tending to check or destroy the progress and prosperity forwarded by the Constitution and statutes. Appropriate laws were enacted by the Legislature to render effective the Constitution, and numerous water districts have been organized thereunder and are subserving the interests of the state in the conservation and distribution of its waters. Among the number of the districts so organized is the appellant, which is serving numerous farmers in the counties of Bexar, Medina, and Atascosa.

There is no controversy about the facts. The district was organized under the statute by a unanimous vote of the land-owning tax-payers, being qualified voters, and the district has been conserving and distributing the waters as required by the statute. Bonds in the sum of $2,500,000 have been voted and issued as authorized by law; the issuance and sale of the bonds following a judgment of the district court of the Seventy-Third district, declaring the validity of the bonds.

The only issue in this cause is: Has Medina county...