66 . IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEftUATE PRELIMINARY SURVEYS AND INVESTIGA- 

 TIONS. 



If there is to be a special tribunal to determine rights to water, the jus- 

 tice and success of its labors will depend in a large measure on its action 

 being preceded in every case by an adequate and impartial investigation 

 of physical facts. Before it can determine how much water has been appro- 

 priated it must know how much water a stream carries. Before it can decide 

 how much water has been beneficially used in irrigation, it must know the 

 location and extent of the iiTigated land, and have an approximate knowl- 

 edge of the duty of water. Hence, streams must be gaged, the capacity and 

 length of ditches must be measured, the area of land irrigated must be sur- 

 veyed and its necessities determined. To make these measurements and 

 jDrepare the necessary maps on a single stream is not a matter of days but 

 of months, and it should be completed before the taking of testimony begins. 

 Hence the creation of this tribunal and the inauguration of its work will 

 not mean rapid change or sweeping revolution in existing conditions. The 

 people of the State must prepare themselves to make haste slowly, and to 

 continue to exercise patience and forbearance. If the first two years of 

 this tribunal's existence witnesses the adjudication of rights on a half dozen 

 sti'eams it will have done well. Few of the people talked with realize how 

 important an element time is in this matter. The creation of this tribunal 

 is only a means to an end, not the end. The passage of a law creating it 

 will only modify the existing situation. Rights on some streams will be 

 defined the first year, on others the second, while it may be five or more 

 years before some can be reached. Slow progress is inevitable, and while 

 it is a reason for beginmng promptly, it is not wholly a disadvantage. It 

 will give timid appropriators an opportunity to I'ealize that the labors of 

 this tribunal do not mean the destruction of existing rights, but their pro- 

 tection. There will be some misgivings at first, and to allay these and 

 avert opposition based thereon the tribunal should begin on a stream wliei'e 

 the complications are few and the interests not important. If it acts wisely 

 and conservatively it will succeed as have similar tribunals elsewhere. 

 Later on its trouble will come with a demand for aid from more irrigators 

 than it can assist. 



THE FAVORING CONDITIONS FOR THESE ADJUDICATIONS. 



In beginning its work in California such a tribunal will have many 

 advantages over similar boards in other States. It can avail itself of their 

 experience. It will have the aid and cooperation of the National Govern- 

 ment to an extent not heretofore aft'orded the irrigation authorities of other 



