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H.W.OMELVENY 1885-1941 WL LOUIS ^myERS JOHN OWLVENY PAUL FUSSELL WILLIAM W. CLARY HARRY L.DUNN JAMES L.BEEBE PIERCE WORKS HOMER I. MITCHELL CLINTON LATOURRETTE GRAHAM L. STERLING, JR. W. 8. CARMAN MAYNARD J. TOLL JACKSON W. CHANCE JAMES M. IRVINE,JR. SIDNEY H. WALL Richard c. Bergen WILLIAM P. MARTIN DEANE F. JOHNSON RAY H. LINDMAN JAMES C.GREENE WILLIAM W.ALSUP LAW OFFICES OF O’MELVENY & MYERS 4-33 SOUTH SPRING STREET LOS ANGELES 13 JOHN A-POWELL FREDERICK N.EDWARDS ADRIAN C. STANTON LAUREN M. WRIGHT RODNEY K.POTTER PHILIP A. LOOMIS. JR. GEORGE F. ELMENDORF ROBERT W. LEWIS RUTH ANN SAYLES HOWARD J. DEARDS EDWARD C. FREUTEL, JR. FRANKLIN T. HAMILTON JAMES E. DUNLAP PHILIP F. WESTBROOK,JR. HUGH L.MACNEIL CLYDE E-TRITT ERNEST M. CLARK, JR. EVERETT B.CLARY BENNETT W. PRIEST JAMES E.CROSS E.HARLEY WALTHER JAMES W. BEEBE RICHARD B.RAGLAND WARREN M.CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM E. WILEY, JR. RICHARD F. IGL ROY E. POTTS ROGER WILLIAMS R.BRADBURY CLARK GILBERT E. HAAKH WENDELL B. WILL WILLIAM L. SCOTT EDWARD B. SMITH,IE September 9th 19 5 3 6920 SUNSET BOULEVARD HOLLYWOOD 28 CABLE ADDRESS“MOMS” IN REPLY REFER TO B-2805 SUBJECT LAS VEGAS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT The Honorable Board of Directors of Las Vegas Valley Water District 135 South Fourth Street Las Vegas, Nevada Gentlemen: You advise us that questions have been raised concerning the power of the Las Vegas Valley Water Dis­trict to condemn a municipally owned water system and have asked us whether the District possesses such power. After a review of pertinent law we believe that the District may by agreement with a city purchase and ac­quire a municipally owned water system but that the Dis­trict not only does not have the power to condemn a muni­cipally owned water system, but that the exercise of such power is expressly prohibited. The legislative history of the District Act relative to the power to condemn municipal water proper­ties is as follows: 1. In 19^7 the original Act was adopted (Stat. 19^7, Ch. 167, p. 553). Section 1 of the Act contained 14 subparagraphs listing the various objects and purposes of the District. Subparagraph 7 of Sec­tion 1 in substance provides that the District is “to have and exercise . . . the right of eminent domain and . . .to take any property necessary to carry out the ob­jects and purposes of this aet, whether such property be already devoted to the same use by any district or other public corporation or agency or otherwise. . . * Sec­tion 20 provided for the power of eminent domain to be exercised in the manner provided by general law.