Legal Definitions - mill power

Mill power refers to a specific, often historical, unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of water flow and its potential energy.

This unit was typically employed in legal agreements, particularly leases, to precisely define the quantity and force of water that a person or entity (known as the lessee) was entitled to use from a particular water source. It essentially measures the capacity of water to perform work, often for operating machinery such as a mill.

Here are some examples illustrating how "mill power" might be applied:

• Imagine a historical agreement from the 19th century where a landowner leased a portion of a river to a textile factory. The lease document might have specified that the factory was entitled to "ten mill power" from the river. This clause legally defined the exact volume and velocity of water the factory could divert and use to turn its water wheels and power its machinery, ensuring both parties understood the scope of the water rights granted.

• Consider a modern property deed for an old industrial site situated along a river. The deed might contain a legacy clause stating that the property includes rights to "five mill power" from the adjacent waterway. Even if the original mill is long gone, this clause still legally quantifies the water rights attached to the land, indicating the specific amount of water flow and potential energy that the current owner could theoretically harness, perhaps for a small hydroelectric generator or for industrial cooling processes.

• Suppose two neighboring farms share a stream, and their respective property deeds, dating back over a century, each specify different "mill power" allocations for water usage. Farm A's deed grants "three mill power," while Farm B's grants "two mill power." If Farm A begins to divert significantly more water, causing a shortage for Farm B, the "mill power" specifications in their deeds would be the legal basis for determining each farm's rightful share of the stream's flow and energy in any dispute resolution.