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For the most part it is no longer possible in California to obtain 

 independent individual water supplies for irrigation by direct diver- 

 sion from streams. In general, therefore, the settler must obtain his 

 irrigation water (a) by residence within a municipal irrigation dis- 

 trict, within which all landowners share equally in the district water 

 supply, and all legally qualified voters have an equal voice in its 

 control and management; (&) by purchasing stock in a mutual, non- 

 profit-making, water company having water available, in which case 

 the water usually becomes appurtenant to the particular farm or the 

 particular tract irrigated, and the water users immediately or ulti- 

 mately (depending on how much land within the tract or project has 

 been sold) control the water system; (c) by contracting with a com- 

 mercial water company for water service, sometimes requiring the 

 purchase of a "water right" apart and separate from the land title: 

 or (d) by means of a well and pumping plant developed or to be 

 developed on the farm purchased. 



No water company can deliver more water than it controls and the 

 company undertaking to furnish water, whether it be a mutual com- 

 pany or a commercial company organized for profit, should be required 

 to give evidence that it has not "over sold" its supply. Care should 

 be taken to see that the water company "bought into" has in it the 

 elements, including the financial resources, of regular and reliable 

 water service. If the settler is counting on obtaining his irrigation 

 supply from a well on his own farm he should take all possible means 

 to satisfy himself that a well will yield a sufficient supply of good 

 water at a depth from which he can afford to pump. Publications 

 of the Office of Experiment Stations of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture and of the Water Eesources Branch of the United 

 States Geological Survey will help in this regard. 



The cost of irrigation water should not be overlooked when figuring 

 on the cost of developing a California farm. In irrigation districts 

 this cost is paid in the form of taxes levied to meet the expenses of 

 operation, maintenance, and betterments, and the interest, and ulti- 

 mately also the principal, on outstanding bond issues. This may and 

 usually does amount to several dollars per acre per year. In the case 

 of mutual water companies, both the initial cost of the water stock 

 (this is sometimes included in the cost of the land) and the annual 

 assessments or water charges are involved. In some parts of Southern 

 California shares in the mutual companies cost at the rate of $125 to 

 $250 per acre. The annual cost of water to the irrigator obviously 

 includes both interest on this original investment and the annual main- 

 tenance and operation charge. Where "water rights" are purchased 

 separately from land their cost, in the main central valley, varies from 



