332 IRRIGATION INVESTiaATIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 



lias decided that where there has been an actual appropriation and use of water a 

 right to it is acquired regardless of compliance with the provisions of the civil code 

 for the acquisition of water rights. Later, as the population increased and the 

 inadequacy of the water supply to meet all demands became evident, manj- water 

 users awoke to the desirability of placing upon the official records of the county 

 written statements of their existing rights in order to protect their interests in the 

 future. Thus it was that many of the earlier claims filed for record, being statements 

 of established rights, endeavor to date back to an earlier period. In some instances 

 reference is made with some degree of precision to a specified year, but more 

 commonh' open and notorious use of water for many years is asserted in broad and 

 vague terms. Still later, the idea grew to secure almost general acceptance that the 

 mere act of posting a written notice of claim was the only thing necessary to secure title 

 to water, or, at the least, that it was so far the most important step as to overshadow 

 all other requirements. 



It may be safeh' stated that few of the recorded water claims bear evidence of 

 having been prepared b}' an attorney at law, but the great majoritj' make a serious 

 attempt at legal formality and phraseology. A favorite phrase is to the efl'ect that 

 the claim is made "under and bj' virtue of the laws of the United States and of the 

 State of California in such cases made and provided," whereas the remainder of the 

 document itself is abundant proof that the claimant possessed not the slightest idea 

 what those laws were. Another clause often found is the allegation that the claimant 

 is "a natural-born citizen of the United States over the age of twenty-one." A 

 volume could be filled with the superfluous and wholh' irrelevant statements contained 

 in notices which omit to mention the most essential facts. 



LAWS OF APPROPRIATION. 



Section 1415 of the civil code of California, enacted in 1873, provides as follows: 



A person desiring to appropriate water must jxist a notice, in writing, in a conspicuous place at 

 the point of intended diversion, stating thierein: 



(1) That he claims the water there flowing to the extent of (giving the number) inches, 

 measure*! under a 4-inoli pressure.' 



(2) The purpose for which he claims it and the place of intended use. 



(3) The means by which he intends to divert it and the size of the iiume, ditch, pipe, or aqueduct 

 in which he intends to divert it. 



A copy of the notice mu.st, within ten days after it is posted, be recorded in the office of the 

 recorder of the county in which it is posted. 



The records show that as knowledge of these statutory requirements slowlv 

 spread among the people subsequent claimants endeavored either in good faith and 

 to the t)est of their abilitj" to complv therewith, or ])v perfunctory compliance with 

 the letter of the law to evade its spirit. In' consequence many absurd and prepos- 

 terous claims have been perpetuated upon the record books. 



The meaning of the term " to appropriate " has been generally misunderstood 

 and coiitiimes so to this day. To a great majority of people "appropriation" and 

 "claiming" are synonymous terms, and no language is more common in water notices 

 than the statement that " 1 hereby appropriate the water," etc. 



' This unit of measure is regarded as equivalent to one-fiftieth of one cubic foot per second. 



