THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



133 



A WATER USERS' ASSOCIATION AS A PRACTICAL 

 FORM OF ORGANIZATION FOR THE 

 FEDERAL WATER USERS ] 



O. E. Farnham, Secretary Belle Fourche Valley Water Users' Association 



At this particular time there is a great deal of 

 stress being placed on the advantages of the Irriga- 

 tion District plans of organization for the Federal 

 Waterusers over the present Water Users' Asso- 

 ciations. 



It matters not whether the organization be 

 termed an Irrigation District or a Water Users' 

 Association if the form of organization is practical 

 and its affairs are controlled by those who have to 

 pay the bills. A water users' association may be 

 formed along practical lines and accomplish sub- 

 stantially the same results as the Irrigation District 

 plan. Especially is this true of the projects which 

 have passed through the promotion period. 



The writer is more familiar with the form of 

 organization adopted by the Belle Fourche Valley 

 Water Users' Association than any other of the 

 Federal Associations, and will use it as an illustra- 

 tion. 



The Belle Fourche Valley Water Users' Asso- 

 ciation holds its charter by virtue of the Laws of 

 the State of South Dakota, was incorporated in 1904, 

 and its purposes and powers as set out in its articles 

 of incorporation are as follows: 



Article II. Section 1. The purposes for which 

 this Association is organized and the general nature 

 of the business to be transacted are : 



To provide for, distribute, and furnish to the 

 lands of the shareholders of the Association, as 

 herein provided, an adequate supply of water for 

 the irrigation thereof; to divert, store, develop, 

 pump, carry and distribute water for irrigation and 

 all other beneficial uses, deriving the same from all 

 available sources of supply; to construct, purchase, 

 lease, condemn, or acquire in any manner whatso- 

 ever, and own, use, sell, transfer, convey, control, 

 maintain, and operate irrigation works, structures, 

 telephone systems, electric or other power plants, 

 and property both real and personal of every kind 

 whatsoever, necessary or appropriate for the ac- 

 complishment of any of the purposes aforesaid; to 

 have and exercise all the powers and do all and 

 everything necessary or appropriate for the accom- 

 plishment of any one or more of the said purposes 

 or anything incident hereto. 



Section 2. This Association shall have the 

 power to enter into any contract or other arrange- 

 ment with the proper representative of the United 

 States, or any other person, for the accomplishment 

 of any of the aforesaid purposes, by means of the 

 construction, acquisition or control of appropriate 

 works or structures, or in any other manner what- 

 soever. 



Section 3. It shall have the power to enter into 



any agreement with the proper representative of 

 the United States with reference to the collection 

 and payment of any and all charges made under the 

 Federal statutes for the works providing water for 

 the lands of its shareholders. 



Section 4. It shall have power to comply with 

 the provisions of any Federal Statutes applicable 

 to the work done by the United States in connection 

 with such system of water supply, and any rules and 

 regulations established thereunder. 



Section 5. This Association shall have power 

 to act as trustee for the sale, disposal and transfer 

 of lands in order to facilitate the disposal of such 

 lands to persons qualified to perfect rights for the 

 use of water under the Federal Statutes applicable 

 thereto and the rules and regulations established 

 thereunder. 



It was found that the private corporation laws 

 of the state were not practical in every respect for 

 an organization of this kind ; but no difficulty was 

 experienced in procuring the needed legislation. 



The organization is under the control at all 

 times of the majority vote of its shareholders, and 

 each shareholder has a voice in all elections accord- 

 ing to the extent of his holdings, 160 acres being 

 the maximum limit of irrigable acreage any one 

 shareholder may own, and he is entitled to a share 

 of stock for each irrigable acre. Xo proxies are 

 recognized, and no one but the owner can vote 

 his stock. The project is divided into nine directors' 

 district, and each district elects its own director. 

 In order to qualify as a director one must, in addi- 

 tion to being a shareholder, reside upon land within 

 the district from which he is elected. 



The elections are kept entirely free from poli- 

 tics, and nothing but association affairs enter into 

 them. The form of organization is most demo- 

 cratic and responsive to those who are directly in- 

 terested and must bear its burdens. 



Under state law the association has authority 

 to levy assessments, which are by law and contract 

 created a lien against the land and water-right ap- 

 purtenant thereto of the shareholder. The by-laws 

 of the association are adequate for enforcing the 

 payment of assessments, and the lands and water 

 rights may be sold practically in the same manner 

 as the state conducts delinquent tax sales. 



In the Belle Fourche project the association 

 under its contract with the Department of the In- 

 terior is co-operating with the reclamation service, 

 and the public lands within the project are made 

 to bear their share of the cost. The state lands 



