I 



95 



lengthens. The nature of her water rights, therefore, gives Colorado 

 a theoretical advantage in the distribution of the South Platte. As 

 shown by the tables of stream flow and of rights, the rights in Colo- 

 rado prior to any in Nebraska exhaust the stream, and practically all 

 the water which goes to Nebraska is local drainage and return seep- 

 age wdiich can not be diverted in Colorado, and therefore the theoret- 

 ical advantage has little to do with the division of the water. 



CONCLUSION. 



The foregoing report seems to justify the conclusion that under 

 existing physical conditions and in view of the dates of the acquire- 

 ment of existing rights the enforcement of rights as based on the 

 laws of the three States will do no substantial injustice to the irri- 

 gators in any one of the States. As between the States therefore, the 

 whole question resolves itself into a matter of distributing the water 

 of these streams to existing rights regardless of State lines. This 

 can be accomplished by agreements between the States, but if it is 

 not done in that way justice will demand that the Federal Govern- 

 ment provide for this distribution. 



30437— No. 157—05 m 7 



