THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



25 



the several states in the United States 

 adopting the district laws will have 

 less trouble with finance," I would 

 suggest benefits received be based on 

 water used in acre foot units, as this 

 will come as near encouraging the 

 economical and beneficial use of wa- 

 ter as any method yet tried in Idaho. 



Duty of Water: Irrigation is the 

 art of supplying water artificially to 

 the land, and the fact that the duty 

 of water depends on local conditions 

 and in turn the better the duty the 

 more acres can be irrigated and the 

 more crops produced, gives sufficient 

 incentive for the intelligent student 

 to determine the duty in his own 

 locality by long and tedious study of 

 the irrigational system in hand, irri- 

 gation methods, technical and prac- 

 tical, cropping, application of water, 

 drainage and irrigation law, and last, 

 but not least, the water user. 



We are learning by degrees through 

 trial and failure, the necessity of 

 "team play" in the distribution ' of 

 water. To cultivate and encourage 

 this team play, the following should 

 be given some consideration: Or- 

 ganizing and instructing subordinates, 

 maintaining and operating in a prac- 

 tical manner, gathering crop reports 

 and visiting the farmer on his land. 



Few water users can take the same 

 viewpoint of canal operation that the 

 professional manager does; as, for in- 

 stance, the manager is looking after 

 the interests of many, scattered over 

 a large territory, trying to give the 

 farmer the best and most economical 

 service, and at the same time looking 

 after the best interests of the system 

 for the future. All of this is out of 

 the farmer's line and he often takes 

 exception to it on account of lack of 

 knowledge. Too often the farmer 

 does not realize the fact that a 

 cheap manager may cause partial crop 

 failure, which may run from one to 

 ten dollars per acre on a good many 

 thousand acres; he fails to realize the 

 best investment is intelligence, and in 

 order to keep this man they must 

 pay a wage comparable with the po- 

 sition he holds. To overcome this 

 difference of viewpoint or misunder- 

 standing, the manager must secure 

 the confidence and respect of the wa- 

 ter user he must keep in touch with 

 them he should take time to show 

 the farmer why the installation of 

 measuring devices is necessary for 

 the successful division of water and 

 will not deprive him of any of his 

 water. The gathering of crop rec- 

 ords in the fall gives a very good op- 

 portunity for the manager and water 

 user to get together and the value of 

 these records, when properly taken, 

 will justify the cost. 



It has been my experience that 

 young graduates from agricultural 

 and engineering courses who are 

 willing to begin at the bottom as ditch 

 riders or water masters, make efficient 

 help and are thus trained for the po- 

 sition of manager. However, char- 

 acter, habit, ability and diplomacy 

 should be considered and given equal, 

 if not greater weight, than the tech- 

 nical training, as the technical man, 

 without these important qualifications 

 of human nature, can make the man- 

 ager much trouble and oftentimes 

 much expense to the district. In- 



structions to these men should be 

 carefully and thoughtfully written 

 with a view of giving good men con- 

 siderable latitude and in forcing 

 every rule and regulation. 



The measurement and delivery of 

 water should go hand in hand as 

 oftentimes the same device which 

 measures the water may serve also 

 for division. It should be clearly un- 

 derstood that no one method will ap- 

 ply to all conditions; methods suit- 

 able to a canal of heavy grade and 

 with heavy fall in the laterals should 

 not be used where the fall is slight in 

 the canal and service ditches. De- 

 vices to be used where the water is 

 clear may be impracticable in streams 

 carrying large quantities of silt. A 

 poor method may work out satisfac- 

 torily under a manager who has ex- 

 perience and good judgment and like- 

 wise a god system many fail under 

 poor administration; hence one of 

 the necessary requirements in irriga- 

 tion management is to educate the 

 subordinate in a practical manner, so 

 that they have sufficient understand- 

 ing of the principal of measurement 

 to apply them to the exceptional case. 

 This will tend toward gaining confi- 

 dence of the water user, which is a 

 long step in the right direction; hence 

 an important step is taken toward 

 "team play" when the water user un- 

 derstands more of the technical in 

 measuring and delivering his water 

 and the manager likewise obtains the 

 viewpoint of the farmer. The farmer 

 then understands and sees the ne- 

 cessity of the measuring device to ef- 

 fect a fair and equal distribution of 

 all waters in the irrigation district. 



INSTRUCTIONS TO WATE.R- 

 MASTERS 



1. Treat each patron with due re- 

 spect and courtesy, but instill in him 

 the fact that we are running" and con- 

 trolling the canal. 



2. Only by the exercise of pa- 

 tience, judgment and discretion, by 

 the men in the field can unpleasant 

 controversies and complaints be 

 avoided, or at least reduced to a mini- 

 mum, and therefore, a spirit of friend- 

 liness and cooperation toward the pa- 

 trons is enjoined upon all district 

 employees. 



3. Keep in tpuch with the patrons, 

 and if complaints are made, listen 

 attentively, and report same to office, 

 under head of "General Remarks" in 

 your book of records, but do not in- 

 volve yourself if any allegations. 



4. Refer all applications of pa- 

 trons for headgates or measuring de- 

 vices to the manager. 



5. Encourage patrons under sub- 

 laterals and community ditches to or- 

 ganize and appoint their own water- 

 masters, with authority to represent 

 them, order their water, distribute it, 

 or turn it over to the district. 



fi. If questions arise which cannot 

 be decided by the water master, he 

 will make proper memoranda of the 

 same, and call same to the attention 

 of the manager as soon as possible; if 

 the manager does not reply within a 

 reasonable time, his attention should 

 be called to the matter a second or 

 third time. 



7. Do not permit any structures 

 of any kind to be placed in, across, 



along or upon any canal right-of-way 

 or canal without the approval of the 

 manager. 



8. In case of emergency, such as 

 breaks in the canal, employ help if 

 necessary, in order to make repairs 

 promptly, sending in complete report 

 of the break and the length of time 

 water was shut off for repairs. Send 

 in time of men and teams employed 

 as soon as possible. 



9. Cover daily all canals, laterals 

 and creeks in your division; inspect 

 all structures and openings for pos- 

 sible leaks; remove all weeds, brush 

 and other obstructions from the 

 ditches, gates and checks, in order to 

 keep the system clean and in good 

 working order. 



10. Read all gauges and regulate 

 all headgates in your division, mak- 

 ing delivery promptly to farmers in 

 accordance with their written orders 

 on cards furnished for that purpose; 

 these cards must be endorsed by you, 

 giving the date and time the water 

 was changed, then sent in to the 

 office. 



11. When you receive orders from 

 patrons to increase or decrease their 

 water, consider first the safety of the 

 canal and the people below, or (in 

 other words) maintain a steady 

 stream. When you can consistently 

 give or receive water on less than 

 twenty-four hours' notice, do so, but 

 do not take chances on breaking the 

 canal or robbing the man below. 



12. Each water master must re- 

 port conditions actually existing .on 

 the canal each night. 



13. In record book shall be shown 

 the daily record of water flowing in 

 district ditches, patrons' headgates 

 and waste ditches. 



14. When we are short of a full 

 stream, ascertain the amount in per 

 cent we are short and cut each gate 

 this amount. 



15. When the manager gives an 

 order to lock gates and regulate the 

 flow, this means every gate. 



16. Each water master must un- 

 derstand the law pertaining to the 

 delivery of water. Section 7149 reads 

 as follows: 



"Any superintendent or any person 

 having control or charge of the said 

 ditch, canal or conduit, who shall wil- 

 fully neglect or refuse to deliver wa- 

 ter as provided in Chapter Four of 

 Title Nine of Civil Codes, or person 

 or persons who shall prevent or in- 

 terfere with the proper delivery of 

 water to the person or persons hav- 

 ing a right thereto, shall be guilty of 

 a misdemeanor and, upon conviction 

 thereof, shall be subject to a fine of 

 not less than twenty-five dollars, or 

 more than one hundred dollars for 

 each offense; and the money thus col- 

 lected shall be paid in to the school 

 fund of the county in which the mis- 

 demeanor has been committed; and 

 the owner or owners of such ditch, 

 canal or conduit shall be liable in 

 damages to the person or persons de- 

 prived of the use of water to which 

 they were entitled as provided in said 

 Chapter Four of Title Nine of Civil 

 Codes." 



17. Read these rules carefully and 

 follow out the instructions contained 

 therein, as no deviation therefrom 

 will be tolerated. 



