English Common Law is the law of every state in the Union except Louisiana. The Common Law varies from state to state depending on the courts of that state. It is Judge made law. I.e. decisions of what the law is made by judges.
In the US WE have two rules when it comes to water. The "Eastern rule" that is similar to the law on water in England which is if water falls on your land you have the right to it unless what you do with it affects navigation down stream.
The "Western Rule" was invented in the west do to the arid conditions of the west. Some states are split; wet parts of the state follow the eastern rule, while dry spots use the western rule.
The Western Rules are Judge made changes in State' s Common Law when it comes to water.
Now the western states have also passed statutes as to ownership of water but unless those statutes conflict with states Common Law, the Common Law rule is still the law.
The Western Rule is any rain falling anywhere belongs to the first person who used that water (or his successor in interest to that property right). Thus it is the Common Law that says who owns the water that falls on your land and that often means in the west someone other then the landowner of the land the water falls on.
Thus you have to read the case law on this subject not just the statues. The Statues may not mention it for the state legislature knew of its state's Common Law rule and thus avoided the subject. Most cases involving water involves water for crops or cattle not human drinking but these cases often contain language that state even a cup of rainwater that falls on someone's property can be the property of someone else.
I bring this up for a statutory search of the law is not enough you also have to review the case law. Some judges also do not like stating the full extent of what the law is till a case bringing that issue up appears before them. For example the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in about 1998 that the age of consent to enter a Common Law Marriage was 12 even without permission of the 12 year's parents. If you had ask most lawyers as to the age of consent they would have said 18. When the actual issue on how young a person could enter into such a marriage the Court said that since the state's legislature had never passed a law on that subject it was still age 12 for that been the rule in England at the time of the American Revolution. The state legislature had made the age of consent 18 unless you had your parents permission to enter into a ceremonial marriage but had never passed a law as to the age to enter a Common Law marriage without your parents' permission. The the Court ruled it was still age 12.
Side note: As of January 1 2005 you can no longer enter into a Common Law Marriage in Pennsylvania.
I bring up the Pennsylvania case to show that the Common Law rules can show up in areas of the law that State legislatures had ignored for years and sometimes centuries. The same with the western rule as to water. You have to read the case law on the subject in addition to any statutory law. I would not be surprised that a state court has ruled as to a cup of water but that case was never appealed. That the case was never appealed does not make it invalid. In fact that case may be viewed as controlling case on the issue. You have to look at the case law.
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