THE WESTERN" FARMER'S WATER RIGHT. 11 



UNITED STATES RECLAMATION PROJECTS. 



To obtain a right to water in a United States reclamation project 

 it is necessary to acquire land within the limits of the project and 

 make application to the Reclamation Service for water. For each 

 project the Secretary of the Interior fixes the size of farm unit (the 

 acreage for which one person may obtain water), the price of rights 

 per acre, the quantity of water to be delivered per acre, and the 

 annual charges for water. These items vary for the different proj- 

 ects, but full information regarding any of them can be obtained 

 from the United States Reclamation Service, Washington, D. C. 

 Though the Secretary of the Interior fixes for each project the quan- 

 tity of water which is to be delivered to each acre of land, the water 

 user on these projects, as under the others, is, in fact, entitled to his 

 share of whatever water is available for the project, rather than a 

 fixed quantity. 



Originally the United States reclamation projects consisted largely 

 of public lands, and entrymen on these lands took them subject 

 to the water-right charges, and title to the land is not received until 

 the charges are paid. Owners of private lands within these projects 

 are required to apply for water and agree to make their land subject 

 to the water-right charges. There is little public land in these pro- 

 jects open to entry, so that the purchase of private land or relinquish- 

 ments from entrymen on public land subject to the water-right 

 charges is about the only way to acquire rights under such projects. 

 Before making such a purchase, one should find out from the local 

 office of the United 'States Reclamation Service the exact status of the 

 land in question with reference to payments made and to be made 

 for water rights. Prices of land or relinquishments will be a matter 

 of agreement between the parties. 



Water-right charges are to be paid in 20 years, with no interest 

 on deferred payments. 



In 1917 and 1919 many of the States in which the United States 

 Reclamation Service is operating amended their irrigation district 

 laws to provide that districts may contract with the United States 

 for a water supply. It is expected that imder these laws the land 

 in reclamation projects will be organized into irrigation districts, 

 when the water-right charges will assume the form of a tax lien, as 

 in other districts. If this is done, the acquirement of land within a 

 district will carry with it a right to water. 



CAREY ACT PROJECTS. 



The so-called "Carey Act" (act of Aug. 18, 1894) grants public 

 lands to the States containing arid lands on condition that the 

 States provide for their irrigation and settlement. The States enter 



