71 



DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. 



Officials to <listril)uto water are provided for l)y the law of 1903, 

 but have not l)een appointed because ri<,dits liave not been defined, 

 and there is therefore no basis for distribution. A former law pro- 

 vided for the appointment of water commissioners by the county 

 connnissioners, and a few were ajipointed. The new law provides 

 that these commissioners shall serve until superseded by officials 

 appointed inider the new law. 



The engineer is to divide the State into divisions and these into 

 districts from time to time as necessity arises. For each division 

 there is to be a superintendent appointed by the engineer with the 

 consent of the governor, who shall hold ollicc during the |)leasure of 

 the engineer. For each district there is to be a supervisor appointed 

 by the countv commissioners of the county in which he serves, who 

 is to hold office during the pleasure of the county commissioners. 

 The supervisors are to b(> imdcr the direction of the superintendents, 

 who are, in turn, directly under the supervision of the engineer. This 

 system brings the distribution of water directly under the control of 

 the State engineer, and any one deeming himself injured by any act 

 of either a superintendent or a supervisor may appeal to the engineer. 

 The compensation of each sui)erintendent is to l)e fixed by the engi- 

 neer according to the work required of him; that of the supervisors is 

 to be S3 per day, to be paid by the county where the work is done. 



Interference with a person legally a])portioning water is a misde- 

 meanor. Ditch owners are to maintain head gates and measuring 

 devices. Plans are to be approved by the engineer, and he is to 

 furnish specifications and bills of materials if , in his ()j)inion, this will 

 encourage the putting in of the structures. Failure to put in struc- 

 tures within thirty days after requested to do so by the engineer is 

 a misdemeanor, but no punishment is specified. The engineer has 

 not pushed this matter, preferring to get along with current meter 

 measurements and the existing headworks until surveys for adjudi- 

 cation are made, when the structures will be put in. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Water rights pass with the transfer of land if no mention is made 

 of the matter, but they may be reserved or may be transferred sepa- 

 rately. Under the law of 1905 transfers must be reported to the 

 State engineer; and if the place of diversion is changed, a map showing 

 the change must be filed with the engineer. Failure to make such 

 report to the engineer is a misdemeanor. 



Any person wishing to build a dam more than 5 feet high in the 

 course of a running stream, or any dam to hold water more than 10 

 feet high, must submit plans, drawings, and specifications to the 

 engineer for his approval, and the engineer has authority to keep 



