Facts
The Consortage de Cleuson, the owner of the Cleuson alpine pasture, brought an action against the municipality of Nendaz to have its property rights over the waters captured by the EOS company in the Zallaz hollow and in the supply gallery of the Cleuson dam to the Dixence dam recognized. The Cantonal Court of Valais dismissed the action, considering that the waters of the Zallaz spring, which immediately form a torrent, are part of the public domain of the municipalities according to Valaisian cantonal law, and that the groundwater seeping into the supply gallery does not belong to the Consortage as it could not capture it by ordinary means.
The Consortage appealed against this judgment to the Federal Tribunal, which also dismissed the appeal.
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, the springs that immediately form a relatively significant watercourse, such as the Zallaz spring, are not governed by Art. 704 para. 1 CC, which attributes the ownership of springs to the owner of the land. These springs are rather an integral part of the watercourse and are subject to the legal regime of the latter, which in this case is the public domain of the…