Show I UTADS URCiATION0 i Work of State Engineers Office During 18991900 n The following is a record of the work of the State Engineers office during I the past two years RECORDS OF STREAM MEASUREMENTS > MEASURE-MENTS The Stale law provides that the State Engineer shall keep a record of measurements mea-surements of streams > but no funds arc provided l for this purpose The records of such measurements as have been mado by the division of hydrography of the United Slate geological survey arc being kept in this office Measurements of the discharges of City creek 13ml ration creek Parleys creek Mill creek and Bx Cottonwood creek ante been made by Mr i F C Kclscy City Engineer of Salt Lake Cty and he has kindly furnished this office with the results of said measurements APPROVAL OF PLANS The law requires that all plans of dams or dylces when the same are I more than ten feet in height shall be appiovod by the State Engineer The following is a description of the dams and reservoirs the plans and upecilUa tions for which have been approved during the past I luo years The dam of the Otter Creek Reservoir Reser-voir company is located on Otter creek about 100 yards above its Junction with I the cast fork of Sevier river The dimensions di-mensions of the dam are as follows Itlrunimun height J5 feet maximum width at base 1JO feet width on top I I 10 feet length on top IWO feet The dam is a combination of homogeneous earthern dam with a looserock dam The reservoir formed by this dam will be about six miles long and have a surface sur-face area of about 2100 acres and a I Jsloiagc capacity of about 53000 acre1 feet of water The dam of the Davis and Weber Counties Canal company is located on East Canyon creek in Morgan county rhelf1lmen ions of this dam are as follows fol-lows Maximum height 93 feet maximum maxi-mum width at base S9 feet width on i top 10 feet length on top 171 feet The dam is of the type known as a rocky = rock-y llllod dam with a cutoff wall of Portland Port-land cement concrete extending frown the ground surface to bedrock Imperviousness Imper-viousness is secured by means of a I core wall of riveted steel plates em bedded In asphalt and cementconcrete I extending from the concrete cutoff I wall to the top of the dam The reservoir reser-voir formed by this dam will have a i maximum length of one and a half I miles a surface area of about 210 acres and a storage capacity of about S510 acre feet feetGUNNISON GUNNISON DAM The dam of the Gunnison Irrigation company is located on San Pitch river near Stqrling Sanpete county The dimensions I di-mensions or this dam are as follows Maximum height 10 feet maximum I width at base 212 feet width on top I 12 feel length on top 1200 feet It Is a homogeneousearthen dam The reservoir formed by this dam will have a length of about six miles a surface area of about 1500 acres and a storage capacity of about 20000 acrefeeL k The dam of the Gunnison High Land r company is located on NineMile creek near Sterling Sanpete county The dimensions di-mensions of this dn are as follows Maximum height 30 foot maximum width at base 160 feel width on top 30 feet length on top add feet It is a liomogcneouscarthon dam The reservoir reser-voir formed by this dam will beabout one mile long with a surface area of I I about 131 acres and storage capacity 1 I of about 1520 acrefeel The dam of the Upper Sevier Reservoir Reser-voir Irrigation and Fish Stock company com-pany is to be constructed across the Sovier river above Assays Garfield county The dimensions of this dam will be as follows Maximum height 10 feet maximum width at base 210 feet width on top SO feet length on top 777 feet The dam will be a combination com-bination of a homogeneousearthen dam on the upstieam side with a looserock dam on the downstream side The surface area of the reservoir will be about G 10 acres and Its storage capacity about OGOO arrefcil The Salt Lake amt Desert Irrigation company the Desorct Irrigation company I I com-pany and till Leamington Irrigation company propose lo combine forces and j I construct two large reservoirs on Foos creek in Mlllnrd county The water I f will be conducted to these reservoirs i through a canal from Sevier river The I total cost of construction Is I estimated I at S10439G about 100000 of which will bc spent on the canal It will be noted I therefore that the reservoirs are natural reservoir sites and require but I a small expenditure in dam construction construc-tion The dam of Foos creek reservoir No I I 1 Is located on Foos creek about five miles south of Leamington The dimensions di-mensions of this dam will be as follows fol-lows Maximum height 7 feet maximum maxi-mum width at babe 65 t j feet width on top 20 feet length on top 1000 feet It will be u homogeneousearthen dam constructed with a mixture of clay sand and gravel The niaxmum depth of water in the reservoir will by 20 feet I I The area of the reservoir will be 31G3 j I 1 acres and Its capacity 17175 aciefeet The dam of Foos creek reservoir No I 2 will be located about seen miles south of Leamington The surplus water wa-ter from reservoir No1 will pass out through the waste way into reservoir No2 The dimensions of this dam will be as follows Maximum height 20 feet maximum width at base 150 feet width on top 20 feet length on top GOO feet This will be a homogeneous earthen dam conslfucted of a mixture of clay sand and gravel The reservoir reser-voir will have a maximum depth of water wa-ter of 24 feet The area of the reservoir reser-voir formed by this dam will be 9H85 acres and Its capacity will be 110775 acrefeel 1 A MAMMOTH RESERVOIR I Surveys are now being made and plans and specifications prepared for the mammoth reservoir in Sanpete county This reservoir will be located on tho head of Fish creek in Gooseberry Gooseber-ry valley near Fairview Sanpete counts coun-ts Its dimensions will be about as follows fol-lows Maximum height 120 feet maximum maxi-mum width at base 130 feet uldtltion top 10 feet length on top COO feet It will be a homogeneousearthen dam constructed a mixture of earth i gravel and rock The reservoir will have a length of about four miles and surface area of about 1000 acres and a storage capacity of about 36000 acre feet Tho water will be brought from the Price river watershed through a tunnel two miles In length to the San Pitch river watershed An extensive canal system will be constructed in connection with this reservoir and the water will be used for irrigating part of the Sanpete valley and part of Juab county near Nephi I Total storage capacity of the eight reservoirs just described Is 3IGRSO acrej I feet After allowing for loss by seepage seep-age and evaporation this amount of water when properly handled and ry controlled should suffice to Irrigate I f about 00000 ames The construction of 1 these reservoirs Is very Important I l AAork The water supply of all nf the streams in the State is now taken up and if the State Is to continue to grow I and support a larger population it must be mainly through the construction construc-tion of these storage reservoirs The I prevailing idea that the application of a lotal of about 12 Itches of water during dur-Ing tho Irrigating season on land In the arid region will raise good crops Is an evanescent drenm pf I a fond desire WATER MEASUREMENTS In compliance with the provisions of section 2ir 7 this office has been giving Information as to measurements of water to anyone desiring IL Many letters of inquiry as to methods of measurement have been answered and it Is believed that considerable has been accomplished In the way of educating edu-cating the people as to the proper methods of measuring water There has been a great demand for the book giving Special Instructions 10 11atermastersrvim leh was published pub-lished by this odlco during Iho latter pint of the yearn ISDS Practically all of the wateinnnnters in the State have been furnished with a ropy of It and no doubt many of them hart derived benefit from the information it contains con-tains Eaih atcrmaster was requested re-quested to keep measurements of the water flowing in the ditches under his charge and send them to this office for permanent record It was hoped lhat in this way some valuable information In-formation would be obtained but the law docs not require the watermaster to make measurements and they have not done it In addition to the Utah demand for this book of Instructions to water I ihnslers requests for 11 have come finny all parts of Mime United Slates and even a cow have come from Mexico Canada and England The tables of rectangular weir discharges have proven very useful but it was soon discovered that the table giving discharges of trapezoidal weirs was not only incomplete but also incorrect some serious errors having crept In through carelessness In proofreading and printing It was therefore thought best to calculate a new and complete table of discharges for trapezojdil weirs and this has been done for lengths of weir from 1 to 20 feet and for heads of water from 001 feet lo T I feel This made much work for the office Involving as It did thousands of computations but the trapezoidal form of weir Is becoming quite popular and it Is believed that these tables will be very useful They have been printed and will distributed among the watermastcrs IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS Tn the first biennial report of this oflice mention was made of the work that the oflice of experiment stations of the United States Department of Agriculture proposed to do The main purpose of the work Is to aid the farmers now living on irrigated land One object of tho work is to I determine deter-mine the duty of water that is the volume of water used in the growth of various crops under varying conditions of soil and climate This information is I needed by administrative officers In order that they may make a proper division of the flow of streams It is needed by engineers In order that they may properly design irrigation works It is needed by the farmers in order to promote the saving of water it is needed by the courts in order that they may make just and proper decrees de-crees it is needed by reservoir builders build-ers In order that they may be able to calculate about how many acres of land a reservoir of a given capacity will redeem Other objects of this work of irrigation irriga-tion Investigations as regards the laws and Institutions of the Irrigated regions are To aid courts and administrative admin-istrative officers In the adjudication of water right claims to detect the defects de-fects In existing laws and methods of administration and to furnish Im i i partial and adequate Information upon I I which wiser and more equitable decisions I I de-cisions may be based to assist farmers I 1 in the acquirement of water rights and to protect their Interests In the I appropriation and use of water for Irrigation I Ir-rigation r t Irrigation Investigations were started in this State about June 1st 1899 on Logan river mar Logan and on Big Cottonwood creek near Salt Luke i City = The work at Logan was put In i I charge of Prof G L Swendsen and I the work at Salt Lake City In charge of the writer During the year 7900 the Investigations were continued the I places abovementioned and in addition addi-tion other Investigations were made near Provo by Messrs A P Stover and W 13 Searle Similar work has been I carried on In other Western States during dur-ing the past two years Prof Elwood Mead is the Irrigation expert In charge of all of these investigations Investi-gations for the United Slates Department Depart-ment of Agriculture The following is a description of the Investigations on Big Cottonwood creek I The results of the Investigations made by Prof Swendsen at Logan showed that the duty of water under the t Logan and Richmond canal was about Gi acres per cubic foot per second sec-ond and that the losses by seepage and evaporation in the canal amounted to about 33 per cent of the tolal flow The results of the investigations made on Big Cottonwood creek by the writer showed that the duty of water under the various canals varied from I 50 to 100 acres per cubic foot per second sec-ond The sandy gravelly bench land I and the clayey bench land used the most water and the sandy loam bottom bot-tom land used only I about onehalf as much I From the information obtained by 1 this investigation the following conclusions conclu-sions Mere drawn I First The canals and ditches are Improperly Im-properly located and poorly con strutted Second Tho work of the board of arbitration ar-bitration which adjudicated the rights upon tic stream was Improperly done and its findings are not really considered consid-ered binding by the waterowners Third The water rights are not properly prop-erly recorded and such records as they have arc not recognized by all as being correct FourthThe water Is improperly divided di-vided and distributed and a right does not carry with It any certain quantity of water nor any certain portion of the water flow In the creek A detailed report of these investigations investiga-tions will be published along with the State Engineers regular biennial report I for 1599 and 1900 IRRIGATION IN UTAH Two very important questions closely associated with irrigation In Utah will soon force ihemstlvos upon the attention atten-tion of the people The future growth and 1 prosperity of the Slate depend largely upon how these questions arc decided They = are First How shall the water rights on the various streams be adjudicated and second how shall the water be divided and distributed TITLES TO WATER Water is personal property in Utah and yet a very small percentage of the Irrigators of Utah have undisputed legally le-gally defined lilies to water So far as the writer Is able to judge It Is necessary I neces-sary in this State to go into the courts In order to acqulro absolute titles to water This is not only a very expensive expen-sive method but is also one that requires re-quires much time The trial of one case sometimes costs as much as would be required to conduct a properly organized or-ganized State Engineers office and board of control for an entire year and 1 a case that could be adjudicated in a few months by a board control may I require several years time to be decided de-cided by the courts A RECORDS OF WATER RIGHTS I At the present tjme the ofllces of the various County Rdcorders are the proper places of record for water rights As a matter of fact however I only a small percentage of the number t of Mater rights have been so recorded 1 and In some localities practically none I of the water rights are recorded The records used In making distribution distribu-tion of the Mater am those kept by I the Materrnaslers The MAtbrmaster of each ditch keeps a record of all tho rights under his ditch which is I gener J ally conceded to be correct by the owners I own-ers on that particular ditch hut not I necessarily so by thc owners on other ditches i I Thus It comes to pass that in Utah i the ownership of water is based mainly upon the records of the vaiermnslers I each owner being supposed to have aright a-right to water a certaIn number of I acres A right does not mean any certain cer-tain quantity of Mater nor does 11 mean any certain portion of the water flowing In the stream This is I owing to the Inaccurate manner in which the i water Is divided There should be one office of record for all the water rights in the State I and such provisions In the law should be made as would compel waterowners to record their rights All claims to the use of water I for any purpose whatever should also be recorded at this yamc office of-fice The convenience of such an arrangement ar-rangement Is patent to any one o ADJUDICATIONS In nearly every part of the Stale the rights on some of the streams have been or arc now being adjudicated by tho courts and much time and money arc being spent In litigation uselessly spent because very few decrees of I court are satisfactory to any one The trials of water cases are often mcro I farces This Is not Intended I as a reflection re-flection upon the courts So far as lime writers observation goes time attorneys and Judges always endeavor to get at the truth but the character of the testimony tes-timony IK such lhat It Is Impossible l to obtain a just and proper dccioe How la Jt posBlble lo properly decide a case Mhen the very evidence upon which the decree should be based is unobtainable This Is owing to the faet that there is no series of stream measurements and no reiiubli information either as to the acreage Irrigated or the duty of water ARBITRATION On some streams the rights have been adjudicated by boards of arbitration the members of which are first chosen by the people and then appointed by the courts Usually the findings of such a board are more satisfactory to the majority of the Materowners on a stream than would bo the dccres of a court because the members of the hoard Investigate the case and take the testimony right on the ground and not In a courtroom pome ten or twenty miles l distant Judging from the cases that have como under the writers notice no-tice the arbitrators have always failed to secure sufficiently accurate information Informa-tion upon which to base their finding and they = do not provide for a proper and accurate administration of their decisions Their findings are therefore liable to be unsatisfactory They do not for one thing obtain accurate data as to the acreage Irrigated Usually they simply call upon owners of primary pri-mary rights to state under oath the number of acres of water rights claimed The acreage is then footed up for each ditch and the division made upon that basis People owning primary pri-mary rights turn in the acreage they think they have Afterward actual surveys are likely to show serious errors er-rors in thus estimating the acreages Sometimes waterowners in order that they may receive a large allotment of water by the arbitration turn In all the i land they have In the district whether it has been irrigated not In that May much wet pasture land may be listed which the owners have no intention inten-tion whatever of watering Again sometimes owners will turn In land that Is and always has been irrigated from spring Tho Information upon which the arbitrators base their decisions being be-ing Inaccurate the decisions are soon found to be unjust and unsatisfactory DIVISION AND DISTRIBUTION The waters of very few streams In this State are accurately divided 1 Courts and boards of arbitration have I rendered decisions on various stroams ell over the State granting Lc certain j water right to each owner and yet It is safe to say that not single decree of court or decision of arbitrators is properly 1 prop-erly carried out TiV methods used by the farmers for dividing and distributing water areA 1 are-A el crudo The following Is one of hc methods commonly used When the division di-vision Is made the watormasters of all I time canals and ditches owning primary rights meet at the lowest point on the I stream where water Is diverted and proceed up stream measuring the width and depth of water flowing at the head of each canal as they go In this way the number of square Inches flowing Into each canal Is obtained These are added together to obtain the total number of square Inches diverted Then the Matcrmasters usually proceed pro-ceed down stream regulating the quan titles of water diverted so lhat each canal will have Its proper number of square Inches according to the num ber of shares allotted by decree by ar biiraUon or by mutual agieement as the case may be I A stream 100 Inches wide and 5 inches deep would he 500 inches according to this method and a stream 50 Inches wide anc110 inches deep would also be 500 inches No allowance al-lowance is I made for differences In Afe lucky In the various canals The formers form-ers realize that this is not an accurate way of dividing the water but they will not go to the trouble and expense of doing It properly Generally this results re-sults in lire upper canals taking out all the Mater they want and the lower canals ca-nals taking what they can tIn t-In < distributing the water to the Aari ous OMncrs of a ditch Rorncllmos even cruder methods arc used the writer Is dlslrlbtted by the walcrmasler and frequently he distributes It among the users by the eye using a stone or a few shovels of mud to divide thC water In some Instances more arc is used and the water enters all the main branches by selfdividing gates the widths being proportioned to the shares but still no real attempt being made to attain nc curacy In order to remedy the difiicultlcK described changes in the water laws of Utah should he made as follows First The oflice of the Slate Engineer Engi-neer should beprade the office of record of all claims to Avater and the laM should compel all owners of existing rights to record their claims Second All persons desiring to appropriate ap-propriate water before beginning its diversion should be required to secure a permit for the same from the State Engineer I Third All countv I records of all claims to appropriation of water should be transferred to the office of the Stale Engineer who should classify lire same Fourth The Slate should be divided Into live water divisions provision being be-ing made for the appointment of one superintendent for each division who should report to the State Engineer Division superintendents should have authority to make regulations to secure se-cure the proper distribution of water reserving the right of appeal from the regulations of the superintendent to the State Engineer The present system of Avatermasters could be continued with the provision that they be required to report to the division superintendents FIfthThe State Engineer and division divi-sion superintendent should be constitutes consti-tutes a board of contro to adjudicate the rights to all the public Maters of the Slate reserving the right of appeal from the decisions of the hoard of control con-trol to the courts SixthThe State Engineer should be authorized and directed to make an examination of any stream to be so adjudicated ad-judicated such examination to include measurements of discharge of stream surveys of canals and ditches diverting Mater therefrom measurements of land irrigated by the said annals and ditches and the securing of any other Information that would be of assistance In the Indication The writer Is Mcll aware that numerous = numer-ous objections to this method of han dung the waters of the State might be conjured up In the minds of some JC I statement of what these objcclionn might be and of the arguments that could be used to refute them would make his I article too long Suffice It to say that all objections can be refuted and that too In a few sentences Tho method here recommended has been In l operation In Wyoming Tor about ten earsOut of 3500 water rights that have been adjudicated by the board oC control only one case has been appealed ap-pealed to the courts No Ibetter practical practi-cal proof of the success of the method could be given In order to relieve the present chaotic condition of affairs the writer has prepared pre-pared a complete set of Irrigation laws for Utah which wIll be printed wIth the State Engineers report and besub = milled to the Legislature this winter v R CVGEMMELL + State Engineer |