HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



541 



months. The act further provides that the waters from said reser- 

 voirs shall be discharged so that the waters so reserved shall be let 

 into Black river during the summer months in such manner and 

 in such quantity as to give, as far as practicable, to the inhabi- 

 tants residing on said river the benefit of said reserve waters when 

 the same shall be required for use, and such supply shall not be 

 less than The quantity which ordinarily flows in said river during 

 the summer, provided the supply from said reservoirs will furnish 

 such quantity after supplying The Black river and Erie canals 

 with water. 



We have here a case, therefore, in which the legislature, by 

 chapter 181 of The laws of 1851. provided for compensation in 

 kind. So far as can be learned, this is the only case in New York 

 where the principle of compensation in kind has been adopted on 

 a large scale on accounT of hydraulic diversion. Usually when 

 such questions have been litigated the courts have held that there 

 must be money compensation. 



The construction of the reservoirs began in 1852, and proceeded, 

 as legislative appropriations were made, from year to year, al- 

 though in 1858, when the appraisers were considering the Black 

 river claims, only the North branch reservoir had been completed. 

 Work had been begun on the South branch, Woodhull and Chub 

 lake reservoirs, but stopped in 1857 for lack of funds. 



As already stated, the Canal Commissioners appealed from the 

 awards of the Appraisers on the ground that the said Appraisers 

 had not taken into account the full amount and flow of water to 

 be obtained from the reservoir system. The Canal Board rendered 

 its decision on this appeal in February, 1860. The position of the 

 Canal Commissioners was sustained and the Canal Appraisers' 

 awards reduced pro rata 35 per cent — that is to say, the Canal 

 Board took the ground that the construction of the reservoirs was 

 to a considerable degree compensation for the diversion. 



Since 1860 a number of reservoirs have been built until the 

 actual storage capacity on the headwaters of the Black river is 

 considerably in excess of the full amount diverted to the Erie 

 canal during the dry season, but for various reasons the construc- 

 tion of these reservoirs has not supplied the water needed — or at 

 any rate it is so claimed by the owners of mills on the Black river. 



