86 



Idaho (see p. 50), it is doubtful whether it will stand in Orejijon. 

 There is no claim that the water belonjjs to the State on which to base 

 the proceeding. 



Whenever any suit for the determination of water rights is brought 

 and the State is a party to the suit, the court may call on the State 

 engineer to make surveys similar to those referred to above. These 

 surveys are to include complete hydrographic surveys of the entire 

 stream system to determine the amount of water used by each claim- 

 ant, the character of the land watered, and the duty of water for each 

 tract, and the collection of all data necessary for the adjudication of 

 the rights involved. 



Such a suit has been begun on the AValla Walla River at Pendleton. 

 No provision is made by law for paying expenses of the surveys to be 

 made by the State engineer, his interpretati(m of the law being that 

 the S2,500 appropriated for hydrogra])hic surveys can not be used 

 for this purpose, but must be devoted to general hydrographic surveys. 

 The cost of surveys made in connection with suits is to be taxed 

 against the parties, but the parties in the Walla Walla suit have made 

 up a fund to pay for the surveys. The engineer has established 

 stations to obtain complete records of stream and canal flow, is sur- 

 veying and mapi)ing all the ditches and irrigated lands, showing on 

 his maps the character of the soil and character of the crops. He is 

 required to make an estimate of the duty of water for each tract, 

 and the surveys will contain the information on which he must base 

 his estimates of duty. The law requires that the engineer shall 

 "gather all data necessar}' f or the adjudication of all rights involved." 

 This he has interpreted to mean simph" the information which can 

 be secured by the making of surveys, but does not include any tak- 

 ing of testimony as to dates of construction of works and the use of 

 water. 



The suit on the Walla Walla just referred to is the only one which 

 has been brought to which the State has been made a party. It will 

 be noticed that this provision for surveys by the engineer applies 

 only to actions to w^hich the State is a party. In the Walla Walla 

 case the State is made a party on the following grounds : 



That the State of Oregon owns lands on the tributaries of the Walla Walla Kiver, holds 

 mortgages on lands situated upon said river, and claims and asserts an interest in all sur- 

 plus waters of said stream, and the right to control the same, during seasons of the year 

 when there mav be a surplus in said streams, which right is asserted under and by virtue of 

 an act of the legislative assembly of the State of Oregon, approved and filed in the office 

 of the secretarv of state February 22, 1905, and for that reason is made a defendant herein. 



There is no provision for the beginning of an adjudication by the 

 State on its own motion. 



