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Los Angeles, March 17, 1947 Mr9 Calvin M. Cory: f Last week Mr. Perkins, our Chief Engineer, asked me if I would have you check into the old records of the Water Company or the Railroad with respect to the status of the so-called Las Vegas Creek. As you know we own the spring from which the Creek arises and it flows through the town and ends around the old Stewart Ranch, which the Water Company now owns. There is also a deed obligation originating at the time Senator Clark bought the ranch which requires us to furnish a certain amount of water to the Stewart burial plot which is on the ranch. The course of the creek is a muddy, meandering ditch which is used by everone for dumping trash and whioh, it has been claimed, is a possible source of danger to lit­tle children' playing around it. We have been informally requested by some of the City fathers either to put the creek in a culvert or fenoe it. Both of these would re­sult in considerable expense to the Company, and Mr.Per­kins asked me to have you check as to whether there is any obligation upon us either to enclose this creek or to fence it. His idea is that we have a right to the water and that likewise we have the right to have the water flow in its natural course; that we are under nb obligation to anyone, but there is a general obligation in the pub­lic not to interfere with that natural flow of the stream, and also that we would have no liability or responsibility so long as the creek does flow in its natural stream and the public use the stream bed as a trash dump or the chil­dren might fall in the creek. I wish you would go over the old papers Involving this water right with Mr. Folger and possibly Mr. McNa- mee and let me know whether we have any obligation, re­garding this matter or whether we cannot claim that oth­er than owning the source of the water and having the ri­parian right to have it go down to the Stewart Ranch we have no obligation, Mr. Perkins would like this infor­mation as soon as possible. EEB:MS E. E. Bennett