§ 20-27. Quantity of water city allowed to use from Skaneateles Lake; performance of work of placing and maintaining pipes, walls, etc.; power of superintendent of public works to regulate water flow; city to hold state harmless from liability; state's right to free water.

Said city is authorized and empowered to take and conduct water, not required for the Erie Canal, from said Skaneateles Lake to said city in whatever quantity may be required for the purpose of supplying said city and its inhabitants with water. All work performed by said city in placing and maintaining walls, intake pipes, gates and gatehouses in said lake shall be executed under the supervision and control of the state superintendent of public works and in accordance with plans and specifications therefor approved by the state engineer and surveyor, and the dam and all structures connected therewith shall continue to be under the control of said superintendent of public works and shall be maintained and kept in repair under his direction, but at the cost and expense of said city, so long as water from said lake shall be required for the Erie Canal. Said superintendent of public works is empowered to regulate the flow of water from said lake into the conduit pipes maintained by said city, insofar as may be necessary to secure a sufficient quantity of water for the Erie Canal, it being understood that the rights of the city of Syracuse in and to the waters of said lake are to be subject always to the superior claims of the state thereto insofar as such water may be required for said Erie Canal. The city of Syracuse shall at all times protect and save harmless the state of New York from and against all claims and damages of riparian owners upon said lake and outlet for loss or damage occasioned by any act or structure authorized or maintained by said city in connection with the construction, extension, maintenance and operation of said system of waterworks. In consideration of the rights and privileges hereby granted by the state to the city of Syracuse, the state shall be permitted, without charge therefor, but under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the officer in charge of the water department, to convey from the water conduits or reservoirs maintained by the city, such supply of water as may be required for the use of the state fair buildings and grounds.

(N.Y. Laws 1906, Ch. 631, § 2)