RFXENT IRRIGATION LEGISLATION. 



By R. P. Teele, Assistant Chief, Irrigation Investigations. 



Diirino; the summer of 1905 a study was made of the laws of the 

 arid States rehiting to the use of water in irrigation, the results of 

 wliich were puhlished in a bulletin of this Office." Since that time 

 there has been considerable legislation affecting irrigation, and it is 

 the purpose of this article to discuss the legislation since 1905, with 

 such references to previous legislation as are necessary to make plain 

 the discussion of the later laws. 



The legislation of the Western States relating to irrigation is of two 

 classes, that which deals with the acquirement and protection of rights 

 to water, or administrative law, and that which deals \\{t\\ promotion 

 or organization of irrigation enterprises, which has for its purpose the 

 promoting of irrigation development. 



ADMINISTRATIVE LAW. 



The greater part of the irrigation legislation of these States is of this 

 class. In 1905 the States which had provided by law for fairly com- 

 plete systems of public control of the acquirement of rights to water 

 and of the diversion of water from streams were Colorado, Wyoming, 

 Nebraska, Idalio, Utah, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Dakota. 

 The most marked diirerence in the laws of these States are in the pro- 

 visions for defining existing rights. These rights were acquired with- 

 out public supervision, and while certain general principles as to the 

 nature and limitations of water rights were generallv recognized in 

 all the States, there was no means of determining the application of 

 these principles to any particular right until it had come into contro- 

 vers\' and })cen passed upon by the court. The defining of such 

 indefinite riglits is a necessary preliminary to any orderly public con- 

 trol of diversions from streams since new riglits are subordinate to 

 these earlier rights, and no matter how accurately the new rights are 

 defined as they are acquired they remain indefinite so long as prior 

 rights are indefinite. Hence all the laws adopttnl ])oth before and 

 after 1905 attempt to bring about a speedy adjudication of existing 

 rights. 



The first step in this direction was taken by Coloratlo, which pro- 

 vided that when any suit involving the right to water was brought, 



■ a U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 1G8. 



399 



