20 



The new code adopted on the admission of the State provided for the 

 adjudication of all existin<>; riji;hts, the acquirement of rit^dits in the 

 future, and the distribution of water to those entitled to its use. 



DEFINING TERRITORIAL RIGHTS. 



The defining of rights acquired prior to the creation of the new sys- 

 tem was placed in the hands of the board of control, which was com- 

 posed of the State engineer as president and the superintendents of the 

 four water divisions into which the State was divided. The State 

 engineer makes measurements of the stream, the rights to which are 

 to be adjudicated; determines the carrying capacities of the canals; 

 makes examination and approximate measurement of the lands irri- 

 gated or susceptible of irrigation from the ditches, and makes a map 

 showing the course of the stream, the location of each ditch or canal, 

 and the legal subdivisions of land which have been irrigated or are 

 susceptible of irrigation from ditches already constructed. The super- 

 intendent of the division in which the stream is located takes testi- 

 mony as to dates of original construction and subsequent enlarge- 

 ments, dimensions of ditches, and areas irrigated at various dates. 



Notice of the adjudication consists in the publication by the board 

 in a newspaper in general circulation in the county when the adjudica- 

 tion is to take place, of a notice stating when the surveys will begin, 

 and when and wtere the taking of testimony will begin. The super- 

 intendent also notifies each party having a claim on record, by regis- 

 tered mail, of the time for both making surveys and taking testimony, 

 and incloses a blank form for statement of claim. Each claimant is 

 required to certify to his statement, under oath, and the superintendent 

 adninisters the oath without a charge. When the testimony is all in 

 it is opened to inspection by all interested parties, at a time and place 

 specified l)y the superintendent in a notice published for one week in a 

 newspaper published in the county. At this time contests n^ay be filed 

 by interested parties, and heard by the superintendent. The testi- 

 mony is transmitted to the l^oard of control, and at its next regular 

 meeting an order dcfming the rights is made. Appeal from this decision 

 may be taken to the district court. It was provided that cases pend- 

 ing in the courts when tills law took effect might l)e turned over to the 

 })oard, and this was done in a few cases. 



The lioard organized in April, 1891. At that time the courts had 

 defined the rights on only six streams, settling less than 200 claims, 

 while there were on record and awaiting adjudication more than 3,000 

 claims. The demand for adjudication was so great that in some cases 

 testimony was taken before the surveys were completed, but this did 

 not prove satisfactory, as the maps make possible the informal correc- 

 tion of many errors in description while taking testimony. For the 

 first few years the making of these surveys was the princij)al work of 



