IRRIGATION PROBLEMS OF HONEY LAKE BASIN. 101 



and neighborhoods: Susan ville. Johnston ville, Bugg.vtown, Standish. Milford, 

 Amedee, and the Tule district. It was believed that a board as representative as this 

 would be able to protect the intei-ests of all localities and avoid social friction and 

 litigation, with resulting prosperity for the valley's irrigation industr\- as a whole. 

 The subscriptions for the stock of the new companj* were encouraging in amount 

 and character. 



With ever}' apparent sign of enthusiasm and good will the reorganized system 

 set out upon its career. A definite programme of construction, looking to the 

 gi-adual increase of the water supply and the irrigated area, had been worked out 

 and discussed at all the public meetings. The first step in this programme was to 

 build the dam on the lower part of Susan River to provide for the diversion and use 

 of flood waters in accordance with the stipulation already quoted. The results of this 

 first step have alread}^ been described in our account of the later lawsuit. It was 

 not a case where all the virtue and all the justice lay with one side, and it may there- 

 fore be worth while to speak of the merit of the controversy as it appeared to the 

 contending parties. 



Those who built the dam supposed they had a right to take all the waters of 

 Susan River, either by storage or by diversion, with the exception of 1,000 inches 

 from March 1 to July 1, and 250 inches thereafter, which had been expresslj' reserved 

 for the Tule district. It was clearly understood that the measurement must be made 

 immediately above the mouth of Willow Creek. The employees of the company 

 were instructed to treat Willow Slough as the true channel of Willow Creek for this 

 purpose and to measure the river above the mouth of the slough, permitting the 

 required amount of river water, together with the entire flow of Willow Creek, to 

 pass the dam. The measurements of water at this point during the spring of 1899 

 are given in an earlier page of this report. They show that even in a j-ear of consid- 

 erable drought there was a surplus available for the dam and its new canal at that 

 point. There was a reason of the highest engineering importance why the dam 

 should be located below the mouth of Willow Slough. This reason is found in the 

 fact that Willow Slough is a natural canal, furnishing a connection between the river 

 and a system of proposed reservoirs on the north side of the valle}-. By making use 

 of this natural canal the construction of an artificial watei"waj' for a long distance, 

 through a difficult country, was avoided. Since the California law distinctly provides 

 that stored waters maj' be mingled with a natural stream and then taken out, and 

 since there was no legal restriction governing the point of diversion, this engineering 

 reason was regarded as conclusive as to the location of the dam. 



On the other hand, it was recognized that the building of the dam at this point 

 might be misunderstood, and that a structure so located might readily be used so as 

 to inflict serious injury upon farmers living lower down on the river. But the 

 enterprise was regarded as essentially a public undertaking. It had been organized 

 with the approval and assistance of all elements of the community. It was believed 

 that the dam could be opei"ated in such a way as to benefit all and injure none, and it 

 was expected that the result would be general confidence and respect for the enter- 

 prise. The dream proved Utopian. The dam, as built, intercepted the entire flow 

 of Willow Creek. It might, then, be used to deprive the Tule settlers of everj' drop 

 of water except 1,000 inches. In this case their homes and farms would be desolated 



