The board may employ a competent engineer or mechanic whose duty it shall be to supervise the operation and maintenance of all power plants, transmission lines, motors, engines, pumps and all electrical and mechanical appliances installed by the district and may, through such engineer or otherwise, provide engineering, electrical, mechanical, irrigation and agricultural assistance and instruction to owners of lands within the district.

The board shall in its printed rules relating to the service provide schedules for irrigation by the several owners of land so as to evenly and equitably distribute the power-load and may establish rules as to the amount of water to be pumped from each of such wells in conjunction with any state authority that may now or later be vested with jurisdiction of the appropriation of water from subsurface streams or reservoirs, in order to control, as far as practicable, the water level of such subsurface streams or reservoirs, and to avoid excessive pumping which might increase the pumping cost beyond the point of efficiency.

Said board shall also have the jurisdiction and authority to stop the waste of water in such district. The board may refuse service to owners of land unless and until such owners conform to such rules so established by the board in their use of such power and water.

All such rules must be reasonable and are subject to correction by action of any person affected thereby in the district court.

History: Laws 1929, ch. 76, § 47; C.S. 1929, § 73-747; 1941 Comp., § 77-2447; 1953 Comp., § 75-25-47.

Effective dates. — Laws 1929, ch. 76, contained no effective date provision, but was enacted at a session which adjourned on March 9, 1929. See N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 45 Am. Jur. 2d Irrigation §§ 52, 53.

94 C.J.S. Waters § 321.