When any person, corporation or city may be desirous of erecting and maintaining a milldam or dam for generating power upon his, her or its own land across any watercourse, and shall deem it necessary to raise the water by means of such dam, or occupying grounds for mill yard or power plant structures, so as to damage by overflowing or otherwise real estate not owned by him, her or it nor damaged by consent, and in cases where it is necessary to the more efficient running and operating any such mill or power plant to turn any adjacent stream or spring into the one on which the mill or power plant is situated, the party so desiring to use the same may run the stream over the land of any other person by ditching or otherwise, and he, she or it may obtain the right to erect and maintain said dam and keep up and maintain the necessary ditches or races by proceeding as is prescribed in the act to which this act is amendatory.