Show BEAR ON 3 IRRIGATION Two Important Papers Issued By Agricultural Department I PREPARED BY PROF MEAD 1 MEAI 4 WATER EIGHTS PEOBLEEE OF BEAR RIVES Supply and Its Diversion and Interstate Inter-state RightsStatus of Irrigation In Arid Eegions Views of Clarence Clar-ence T Johnson and Joseph A Breckons 4 Special Correspondence Washington D C Oct 21The department depart-ment of agriculture has issued as a document docu-ment two papers on the water rights problems prob-lems of the Bear nver These reports were prepared under the direction ot Professor JShvood Mead The first paper by Clarence Clar-ence T Johnston assistant in irrigation Investigations deal with the water supply on the eBar river and its diversion and the second by Joseph A Breckons discusses dis-cusses interstate water rights These papers pa-pers were prepared in pursuance of the purpose of the director of experiment stations to inaugurate its study of the irrigation question by the collation and publication of information regarding the actual Ions status of irrigation in the arid re The Bear river valley was chosen for study because in its course of a little over W miles it crosses state line five times finally emptying into Salt lake which is less than fifty miles distant from its source thus presenting in small compass a great variety of interstate problems and offering exceptional opportunities for the inauguration of this class of Inquiries Inquir-ies iesIn In his letter submitting the reports to Secretary Wilson Professor Mead says Has Many Complications Bear river exhibits an unusual number I of water right complications of interstate I streams For the past ten years people in Wyoming who use water from this river for purposes of irrigation have been clamoring for an establishment and protection pro-tection of their rights according to he state laws They have complied with its terms they have made and filed maps to show the location of ditches and land reclaimed re-claimed but all to no purpose The man who has paid no attention to the sate irrigation ir-rigation code fares as well as the one who has fulfilled all its requirements The state irrigation authorities have determined the priorities and amounts of appropriations on contiguous state streams and water commissioners protect these in times of scarcity They can do nothing for the irrigators along Bear river So far as practical results are concerned con-cerned the state law does not apply I is useless to determine priorities of ditches wholly within the state when later ones with headgates across the border in Utah cannot be closed because the water commissioners com-missioners authority does not extend that far To close down the ditches around tle Evanston nnnlri not nilrl to the ivsifpr ann ply of the earlier Wyoming appropriations thirtyrive miles north of there it would I simply raise the water leved of the Utah i ditches which irrigate Woodruff Flats No Useful Purpose I A determination of priorities along two sections of a stream with an intervening I seton left undisturbed would accomplish no useful purpose hence the Wyoming irrigation I ir-rigation authorities have delayed an adjudication ad-judication until some provision is made for Including lieadgafes on the Utah as well as on the Wyoming side of the boundary boun-dary I Nor is the plight of the Utah irrigators in the Woodruff valley any more satisfactory satisfac-tory As the Yellow creek and Hilliard ditches in Wyoming are extended they see later rights taking more and more of their water supply and while both states recognize recog-nize the superior claim of a prior user lack of concerted action causes his claim to be ignored I is unfortunate that the future importance I im-portance of irrigation was not recognized when state boundaries were being established estab-lished A change of 5 square miles either I er way would have disposed of the interstate inter-state problems of Bear river I would I rver have thrown all the controverted portion I of the stream into either Utah or Wyoming Wyo-ming There are scores of similar instances in-stances along the boundaries of these and j other arid states The reforming of these j boundaries is now practically out of the question but the enactment of the I ferent states of uniform irrigation laws i and the entering into amicable agreements dt eepe dn notF 1t I for the protection of irrigators rights are not only possible but ought to be among the early results of the evolution now tak ing place I I Give Publicity u to Fact The most effective means of promoting I this is to study and eg publicity to the facts The discussion Mr 1 by 11 Breckons of the change in property rights in this river the moment its waters cross an invisible barrier can scarcely fail t lead in the near future to a less violent difference in the laws which govern these rights The description of physical conditions by Mr i Johnston will have a local value in relieving re-lieving anxiety on the lower part of the Bear river by showing that there is no danger of diversipns above creating a disastrous dis-astrous scarcity below in removing the interstate jealousy by showing that the contribution of each state to the rivers I supply has an approximate relation to the ultimate use in that state and by showing that relief from existing evils can be had by improving the remarkable opportunities opportuni-ties for storage rather than through litigation 1 liti-gation over the natural tow II Johnston says the Bear has the distinction I dis-tinction of being the largest river in the western hemisphere whose waters do not reach the ocean and that it is perhaps the most important stream in the arid region re-gion Crosses Many Boundaries The river also has a remarkable affinity for state boundaries Within the first 100 i miles of its course i manages to cross tho western and southern boundariesof Wyoming I Wyo-ming four times In its entire course these boundary crossings divide the stream into six sections Ditches let g I in each of these sections are practically independent of irrigation laws or the superior su-perior claims of appropriators of water I below Beginning at the head it crosses the j WomingUfah hue nine miles cast of the low southwest the state corner line of a Wyoming proposed ditch Just ia be to i J return the water to Utah through the i channel of Yellow creek Ditches taken out south of the Wyoming border pay no attention to prior rights north of it their headgates stay open even if tie heatlgates of earlier ditcher front ona dry channel For the next thirtyeight miles Wyoming irrigators have control of the river after which it deserts them by returning to Utah then goes east again t Wyoming then west to Idaho The Idaho Loop The Idaho loop has two interesting features I feat-ures the automatic regulation of floods by Bear lake and the abrupt bend of the I river the drainage when almost basin across of Snake the river divide where Into I I it cuts through a lofty range to enter Cache valley At the southern edge of Cache valley i becomes ugain a picturesque I pictur-esque river roaring and tumbling through a mountain canyon where i cuts through the range which separates Cache and Salt Lake valleys In the two miles of its I passage through this canyon the total fall is about ICO feet I all of the water supply came from the mountains at the head there would be In effect six Independent sets of claims to supply and controversies over the diversion I diver-sion of the water would long ago have become be-come acute But this is not the ease the stream grows from the lake where It starts to the larger one where it edie I ed-ie irrigators In each of the six sections take something from the river there arc tributaries would reinforce it The exceptional ex-ceptional increase due to these tributaries and the facilities for storage practically restrict interstate complications over rights to the four upper sections along the boundary between Utah and Wyoming This progressive increase in volume is one of the complications which will vex those who attempt to frame a code of laws for tho Interstate division of streams Value of Every Eiver The Value of every river for Irrigation Is not determined by Its flood discharge but by the continuance and availability of the water supply throughout the Irrigation Irriga-tion season On most rivers of the northern north-ern half of the arid region there is an insufficient in-sufficient supply for the last half of the Irrigation period and storage has to be resorted to in order to provide for this scarcity In this respect Bear river has exceptional advantages In addition to the lakes at its head which can be made to hold a large part of the spring floods I which now run t waste it has in Bear lake one of the most valuable natural reservoirs to uc found vyithlnahe limits of the arid region All t wihlnl Is required to J convert Bear lake into a reservoir Is the building of a set of headgates to regulate 1 f 1 1 the discharge of water and the raising of 4 the low places in The Turnpike throughout through-out the two or three miles of its length < former Area of Lake I The waters of the lake reach Bear river about eighteen miles from the outlet The river runs within twelve miles of the lake but at th nearest point it has thrown up alow ridge along Its southern bank which prevents the rlver flowing Into the lake lake basin Judging from the water marks along the hills bordering the valley tho lake at one time < covered the entire area arid was between forty and fifty miles long and from fifty to 10 feet deepet than it is at time present time Its siiobldence has left large ferUle tme along the north and west shores pf the present lake On the south there is I also considerable farm ing land irrigated from small creeks Numerous merou small streams enter the lake from t1 I the wet and s gv to Irrigate a consider able portion oCah tillable iund5 on that tia1lo Iands side This siuetlie + lakeis now an almost j al-most continuous orchard where twenty years ag an ttcmpt to raise even the hardiest cereals was considered a hazardous hazard-ous undertaking I Nothing hag as yet been done toward the Improvement l this 1 take the reason I being that it is bdl l w the section of the stream where a scarcity has as yet been experienced To forestall litigation reservoirs reser-voirs will have to be built at the headwaters head-waters of tho stream There are a num ber of lakes south of tho Wyoming line lne I but no examination was made to deter mme either tlieJr capacity or the cost of their improvement Scarcity of Headgates The scarcity of head gates to ditches Zhc f r 3J is a characteristic feature of Bear river irrigation works in Wyoming Another is the parallel construction of ditches to water land below all of them On the wet bank of the river opposite the mouth of Sulphur creek are the heads i of four ditches There are places along I them where all are in view on the same hillside Each ditch above is a menace to all below The extent of damage occasioned oc-casioned by a break In one depends on how many are below and how much water each ditch is carrying This maul tipMcity of parallel ditches Indicates tp1city jJlael diches Indicate a lack of cooperation among farmers not met with In either Idaho or Utah The land reclaimed in Utah Is irrigated gated by larger canals and the > methods meth-ods of the farmers arC < much superior to hose follower in Wyoming either above or below this tract Species of Tunnel The Randolph and Woodruff canal has a carrying capacity for the first three mies of 220 cubic feet per second and for the remainder of the distance of 114 oubio feet per second The local theory for having the greatest fall at the head of the ditch and decreasing it as the cross section diminishes is that when I water is once started in a ditch the quantity can be held The ditch is thus I regarded as a species of funnel That this practice is wrong is evident from the appearance of jtha channel at the I upper end of the canal The canal covers a valuable tract of land averaging four I miles in width a large portion of which Is now under cultivation Oats wheat rye and garden products are the principal crops but the cultivation is superior to that been on the Pn ranches found r above In Wyoming I Examples of Engineering Mr Johnston declares the Bear river canal to be one of the most notable examples ex-amples of canal engineering to be found on this continent both for its size and for the excellent and enduring chciracter of its constructlon The temporary makeshifts make-shifts wljich were a marked feature of the earlier irrigation works have here been discarded and in their place are enduring en-during structures of masonry and iron No lecent work has more strongly marked the tendency toward greater durability and firmness than the works of thla canal Tho head gates areof iron and rubble masonry the waste gates and regulating gates all have Iron frames The largest flume oathe canal has an Iron truss support und a smaller flume is built entirely of iron the first it is believed to be builtJiH the United States Users in Adjoining States In his report Mr r Sreckons discusses the entire question of interstate water rights ina very Instructive and comprehensive manner He says The controversies which already exist between the water users of adjoining states are many and with the continuous continu-ous increase in the use of the water the controversies bid fair to become so numerous nu-merous as to burden the courts with their settlement Controversies of this nature now exist between citizens of Wyoming and Nebraska Wyoming and Colorado Wyoming and Utah Wyoming and Idaho Wyoming and Montana Colorado Col-orado and Kansas Colorado and New Mexico and in fact between the citizens fac citzens of all contiguous states and territories in the irrigated regions of the west These controversies are assuming state Importance The last Wyoming legislature appropriated funds to sustain I a suit against Colorado appropriators or water front streams flowing from Colorado Color-ado into Wyoming which it is claimed I they are unlawfully diverting The last legislature of Kansas authorized the legislature of that state to appropriate I funds to protect in the courts the rights of Kansas Irrigators to the waters of streams flowing into Kansas from Color I ado The territorial legislature of New I I Mexico has appointed leg commission to Investigate the question of water supply f for irrigation purposes with a view to Wlth protecting the interets of the Irrigators I of New Mexico 1 t tlrIgt rs I Endless List of Controversies > I 1 To take up and discuss this endless j list of cQntroersie In all of the diverse conditions of the different interstate 1 flowing streams would make ai bulletin 1 to complex l for general use or informa tfon One stroam only viJl therefore be dJscussed and otto has been selected which presents vitlilr itself examples of ts then controversies in concrete fotm t 1 1his hO the Bear rtvetf In ila of the state traverse by this stream the settlers I set-tlers along Its courg 9 are dniwirig on a I common source for water for Irrigation purposes in all is recognized tne iioctnira of the right to rise t water by virtue ut prior apnroBrffUlQrr and the setUcrs are calling upon their respective common rccaIths to protect that right Yet because be-cause these ngftts have titus far been left to the settlement of the state tribunals bunals which only exercise jurisdiction within state baunaaries and have no Influence In-fluence beyond are distinct appropriations appro-priations one representing an outlay pf ltiX1tb0 < are as absolutely without specific spe-cific regulation as if there were no irrigation gation laws Ant while it is true that the courts may In time b invoked In litigation yet a decision regarding priorities prior-ities across State lines will not open head gates across state lines when the stream rises enoucrti to give water for all or close them OUg1 water Is1 1 scarce That needs an officer with specific duties l would bo just as easy to conduct a city water plant without an engineer to run the pump as to try to enforce priorities across state lines without some authorized author-ized official to open and close the gates gdtC There Is now no United States or state law to correct this need Some Wyoming V3omn Irrigators along the stream have taken advantage of these conditions and In order to avoid the enforcement of Orh nold priorities prior-ities In Wyoming have built the head gates of their ditches ju < t across the state line in Utah Disorganization of Systems I Mr Breckons declares that the recognition recog-nition of tile principles laid tlown by Judge Hiram Knowles inlage Montana district court In the case of Howell vs Johnson would lead to the total disorganization disor-ganization of existing systems In the tesXl irrigated states the overturning I r constitutional con-stitutional rights and the reversal of the decisions of the courts which have held generally that congress by the act of IMG has surrendered sovereign proprietorship pro-prietorship In the waters of natural streams He continues An undesirable undesir-able deplorable and even dangerous state of affairs in reference to water rights along interstate streams exists in the Irrigated regions of the west by reason of diverse nonuniform and incomplete irrigation legislation This state ot affaire af-faire if not improved will become by reason of the rapidly enlarging number of individuals and the Increasing value O Interests affected more undesirable more deplorable and more dangerous I Is also certain that a continuation of present conditions will retard the growth of Irrigation Interests render property the value of which depends upon irrigation irriga-tion less valuable by reason of the un I certain1 tenure and instability ot water rigms ana win ne generally ceirimeniai to the welfare of the people of the west lad interested as they are in proper and equitable laws Improve the Conditions Thinking men demoted to the work of securing for the west permanent welfare and prosperity seek a remedy which shall improve the present unsatisfactory cwtditions in this great factor of western development Whether a practical remedy rem-edy hm be found and made glIVe so as to secure desired results is a question hard of solution in the establishment of law and rules of society individual natural nat-ural rights are relinquished voluntarily in order that a measure of uniformity may be reached by which all may be benefited and protected and all legislation legisla-tion under forms of selfgovernment carries car-ries with it the idea of sacrifice on the part of the governed in order to make such legislation effective T establish uniform irrigation laws which shall apply to the entire arid west the rights of many individuals which have been secured se-cured by reason of too liberal provisions of the laws of the state in which they happen to reside or by the absence of I all irrigation laws or through other causes would doubtless be encroached upon by tho formation of a general system sys-tem which might demand concessions from one state to met the requirements of an adjoining one Il fact there might and doubtless would be entire communities communi-ties called upon to make sacrifices in order to establish a general law or system sys-tem for the good of all But the number I I of persons who might suffer at this time or at some time In the immediate future by reason of changes which might be necessary in the laws of the state in which they live is Infinitely small compared com-pared with the number who suffer from pare the imperfections of the present system or with the number who would have to make concessions from acquired rights action be deferred for should acton any considerable con-siderable time Consequently the earlier an earnest effort is made to effect a radical change in the direction of reform and toward tho establishment of a general gen-eral system of water rights i law In the Irrigated g swi the country the less opposition is likely to be encountered from individuals communities or states and the earlier action is taken the less the friction will be from the ensuing changes j Eights of Citizens I Is clear that reform4 cannot bQ > cear I effected unless the several states la forming new legislation or correcting I I that which alreaay exists take into consideration con-sideration the rights of the citizens of neighboring I states as well as the rights 1 of their own people No uniformity can I be secured if I legislation continue In the future s s > In i the past to be cnact < l for fg u1 th hIJl tJ l Cl r the benefit oil indufduals or local communities 1 com-munities and not of such general nature ag to make it applicable to tho great body of irrigators of < the 4 entlr < > area off Jrrigutod lands Reform in thts matter cannot well be accomplishexi arbitrary > action upon the part of stat governments govern-ments bud must 10 accompanied by 41 educational movemeat which will convince con-vince Irrigators that proposed Kgrslative changes are practical and desiraple As reform must in the main com Crm I the voluntary acton of the stte ami as it fg without much question the gen 6rair desire of the tJsfclenl of tho litigated liti-gated regions of the west that some such sOnl l ulUtti of voluntary legislative procedure b tried to order that this important matter may be secured n plan is suggested sug-gested which if adopted may be the I means ot consummating uniformity of legislation upon water right questions lathe la-the west It Is 1 that the governor of each I state and territory in the irrigated region appoint two commissioners one to be I the state or territorial engineer otg I officer whose position most closely conforms con-forms to that of state engineer and tine I practical irrigator engaged In Irrigation Tne commissioners to c at some convenient con-venient place within six n hr r the time of their appointment a4d formulate formu-late a system of irrigation lows for each state and territory so represented conforming con-forming sl closely as may be possible 10 n general code varying from thlst to meat local conditions where necessary tho system adopted for each S te to embody body general and uniform methods of recording a general standard of measurement measure-ment of water rights and general provisions pro-visions providing for adjudication of the waters of Interstate streams and tnt system so adopted to be submitted to the legislatures or the various states and territories at their next succeeding session ses-sion and recommended for adoption Stepping Stone to dorm While the adoption of thiS plan might not be followed by Immediate and complete com-plete reform in the matter of water rights legislation i might possibly 0 the stepping stone to such reform Annual An-nual congresses such a the > transills sisslppl the Irrigation the similar meetings meet-ings are h ld fof the purpose of Influencing Influ-encing national legislation upon matters of general Interest to the west I seems j reasonable to that the rosonable suppose recommendations recom-mendations of a convention rEom1 practical irrigators and Irrigation experts upon a question of immediate and vital importance to every state and territory within the irrigation district would carry great weight with the lawmaking bodies of these states and territories It ia 1 possible pos-sible that but few of the states would adopt tile recommendations of such a convention but a great advance wid have been made in the direction of uniformity uni-formity when any two contiguous states work upon similar lines employ uniform methods and provide for joint adjudication adjudica-tion and apportionment of the waters of a stream common to both states |