2 BULLETIN 913, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the arid section of the United States and to any who may contem- 

 plate taking up farming in that region. The object of this bulletin 

 is to give such a general knowledge of water rights. The bulletin 

 does not discuss fundamental principles and theories, but rather 

 describes those features of water rights with which every person who 

 farms or intends to farm where irrigation is practiced should be 

 familiar. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER RIGHTS. 



Though the irrigation laws of the Western States differ in many 

 respects, they agree in several particulars : 



The use of streams and other surface water supplies for irrigation 

 and like purposes is subject to control by the States. 



Water may be taken from streams and other sources for irrigation 

 and other beneficial uses, but only in accordance with State laws. 

 This is known as the right of " appropriation." 



Actual use of the water is a necessary step in the holding of a 

 right and when the use ceases the right is abandoned or forfeited. 

 That is, no one can acquire a right to water and hold it without 

 actually using the water, either immediately or within a reasonable 

 time thereafter. This is known as the doctrine of " beneficial use." 



Among users from the same source, the " first in time is the first 

 in right." When there is not enough water for all, the rights are 

 supplied, to the extent of the supply available, in the order of the 

 dates on which they were acquired. This is known as the doctrine 

 of " priority." Exceptions to this rule exist in a few of the States 

 where, in cases of unusual scarcity, the available water is appor- 

 tioned among the users either by the State officers or by the courts. 



The date of a right is fixed by the time of taking the first step 

 to acquire it, rather than by the time of putting the water to use. 

 This is known as the -doctrine of " relation," as the rights relate back 

 to date of beginning. (See p. — .) 



Some of the Western States recognize also riparian rights. A 

 riparian right is a right to use water from a stream which flows 

 through or borders the land to which the right belongs, arising from 

 the fact that the land borders the stream, not from appropriation 

 or use and " use does not create or disuse destroy " the right. Where 

 riparian rights are recognized, each owner of riparian land has a 

 right to make any reasonable use of the water which will not in- 

 terfere with a like reasonable use of it by all the others. Hence, the 

 value of a right depends very largely on other rights to the same 

 source. 



Even in those States where riparian rights are recognized (Cali- 

 fornia, Nebraska. Oregon, Texas, and Washington), appropriation 



