1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



189 



The experience of the Reclamation 

 Service has shown that in the most in- 

 accessible localities in the West, more 

 or less private land is encountered in 

 the development of the projects. The 

 majority of the projects which have 

 been under consideration, and among 

 them some which are practically new 

 discoveries, involve in the area to be 

 irrigated a considerable amount of pri- 

 vate land. 



The proper manner of dealing with 

 these private lands has been a difficult 

 question to solve, having in view the 

 interests of the United States on the 

 one hand and of the private land-own- 

 ers on the other. 



gress has provided that no right to the 

 use of water shall be sold for more 

 than 160 acres of land in private own- 

 ership to any one person, and, further, 

 that the land-owner must be a resident 

 on the land or in the neighborhood, 

 and that no such water right shall per- 

 manently attach until all payments 

 therefor have been made. 



This involves a limitation upon the 

 use of private lands while the right to 

 the use of water is being paid for. In 

 view, however, of the fact that the 

 water right furnished by the Govern- 

 ment enhances the value of the land in 

 a proportion far greater than the act- 

 ual payments required by the Govern- 



Ball's Head Reservoir, Colorado River, California and Arizona. 



The means adopted for the organi- 

 zation of water users associations in- 

 volve a specific recognition of prior 

 vested water rights, and those who are 

 in position to claim such rights are left 

 undisturbed as to such claims, the re- 

 quirements of the Government simply 

 calling for their proper share of the 

 cost of construction of the necessary 

 irrigation works. 



In order to protect these projects 

 of the Government from a monopoly 

 of land-owners or water-users, Con- 



ment, the private land owner cannot 

 properly complain of these restrictions 

 which will be placed upon him during 

 the period of ten years while he is 

 paying for the water right. 



When the Government says : "I will 

 charge you $20 an acre in ten annual 

 installments of $2 each, without inter- 

 est or profit, to furnish water to your 

 land, which is now worth less than $10 

 an acre, on condition that you will live 

 on it or in the neighborhood during 

 ten years," the land-owner cannot 



