59 



loctinii: tlio cost of measuring dcvicos by the water commissioner is 

 cumbersome. The appropriator has first ten days in which to comply 

 with the or(U^r of the commissioner, then tlie commissioner puts in tlie 

 measuring ck'vice. It may then be nearly three months before tlie bill 

 can be presented to the county commissioners, as it is to be presented 

 at a regular meeting and these meetings occur but once in three months. 

 After the bill has been passed upon by the county commissioners ten 

 days more are given before anything is done, then the water commis- 

 sioner turns off the water until the bill is paid. The irrigating season 

 will be over l)y that time and the turning oU' of the water is no hardshij). 

 There is no provision for reimbursing the water commissioner if the 

 appropriator still refuses to pay. Under this provision the appro- 

 })riator may continue to use water for a whole season after being 

 ordered to put in a measuring device, before he can be forced to do any- 

 thing. It would seem that the provision for collecting the pay of 

 water masters might well be extended to the expense of putting in 

 measuring devices — have the county pay the bill and tax the costs 

 against the land served by the ditch. 



COST OF ADMINISTRATION. 



The salary of the State engineer is $2,000 and is paid from the 

 general fund of the State. The appro})riation for the expenses of 

 the oflice for two years, 1905-1907, was $7,500. 



The salary of the water commissioners is SIO per day for the time 

 actually employed, which shall not exceed one hundred and eighty 

 days in any year. For services as a member of the State board of 

 irrigation the commissioner is paid by the State, out of the general 

 fund. The board holds one meeting each year, which can not exceed 

 five days, limiting the amount which the State is to pay each water 

 commissioner to $50 per year. For services in supervising the dis- 

 tribution of water the commissioner is paid by the county where the 

 service is rendered, from the current expense fund of the county. 



Water masters receive not to exceed $4 per day for each day actually 

 employed, and assistant water masters not to exceed $3 per day. 

 The water master prepares a sworn statement of the time put in by 

 himself and his deputies, and the volume of water, stated in cubic 

 feet per second, he has delivered to each user each day, and describes 

 the lands to which the water was delivered. " The pay of the water 

 masters is charged against the land receiving water in the proportion 

 that the water received by each tract bears to the whole amount of 

 water distributed. The statement is to show the proper apportion- 

 ment of the expenses among the users and is to be filed with the audi- 

 tor and recorder of the county or counties in which the water was 

 delivered. The bill is to be paid by the county commissioners and 

 added to the taxes on the land receiving the water. When water is 



