470 r?:p<)HT of office of fxtkrimknt stati()Ns. 



The studios on Ktift River iiicludod :il)out 100 miles of tlje strejiin 

 and included an interestin*^ interstate |)r<)l)Iein. llie irrioa])lo lands 

 beini^- scattered over 15 t()wnslii])s in Idaho and 4 in I'tah, For the 

 irrigation of these lands 1(),430 "inches" of water are decreed — a 

 volume greatl}' in excess of the needs of the land now iirigated and 

 more than the stream can furnish. These excess rights have given rise 

 to many hitter personal and neighborhood quarrels, which have been 

 aggravated l)y the indefinite description of the box through which 

 these "inches" are to ])e measured. 



The decree estn])lishing water rights on this rivei" limits them to the 

 land named in the findings, but the courts have not upheld this attach- 

 ment of water to land. The decree also defines the irrigation season 

 as from April i to October 1, l)ut si)ecifies that water may be used 

 earlier than April 1 if desired. One irrigator interpreted the word 

 "earlier" to extend to December, and was heavily fined for contempt. 



One difficulty in the extension of irrigation in this valley is the 

 uncertaint}' regarding rights to underground w^ater where it sinks in 

 the channel of small streams or reappears in springs. The attempt to 

 sell seepage water rising on a bench some distance from the river 

 has led to controvers}'^ and threatened litigation. 



The seepage losses in the channel of Haft Kivcr are very great, and 

 the holders of prior rights on the lower end claim that no water should 

 be di\'erted until the water reaches the head gates of their ditches, bas- 

 ing this claim on the ground that the amount of water needed to sup- 

 ply their priorities, added to the amount lost in seepage, will absorb 

 all the stream carries. Two or three lawsuits over this question have 

 cost the State several hundred dollars defending the water commis- 

 sioner. 



The irrigators on Goose Creek, a stream Avest of Eaft River, have 

 the reputation of ])eing the most skillful and econoujical users of water 

 in Idaho. Rotation has reached a high degree of perfection, water 

 being divided into rights as small as a quarter of an inch and the time 

 of use regulated to the minute. Water rights are dealt in as real 

 estate and are sold at prices varying from $12 to $115 per inch, accord 

 ing to the date of priority. 



MONTANA. 



J. S. Baker, Instructor in Civil Engineering, Montana College of Agriculture and 



Mechanic Arts, in charge. 



Investigations in Montana have been carried on in the Yellowstone, 

 Bitter Root, and Gallatin valle3^s. In the Yellowstone Valley meas- 

 urements to determine the duty of water have been carried on along 

 one of the large canals, and in connection with this a survcN" has been 

 made of the entire area irrigated and seepage tests made on a number 

 of the larger canals. In these tests we have endeavored to make meas- 



