
Awhile back we explored the closure of the Lassen Lumber Box & Company mill. It was acquired by its neighbor, Fruit Growers. That company purchased Lassen Lumber for its water rights, in case Fruit Growers wanted to convert its mill to a cardboard plant. While that event had never happened, Fruit Growers did operate a cardboard plant in Southern California.
The question posed was whatever became of those water rights. I would assume, and that can be dangerous, that when Fruit Growers sold their mill in 1963, the water rights would have been included. This is where it gets tricky. One can with hold the water rights, and its done more often than one could think. Title companies do not include water rights in their property search. If water rights are in an adjudicated system, like the Susan River watershed, there is. a water master to oversee it. The water master fee is included in the county tax bill. I use of have list of the water users, but I am not sure how I filed it away.
Back of the question at hand. It would be interesting to know who possesses those water rights, since there is no mill, let alone a millpond.
Tim
Paraphrasing: “Whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over.” Still true.