The Distribution of Water. 
3i 
should enable him in his reports to make suggestions to the 
Governor, and thereby indirectly to the legislature on any de¬ 
sirable change in the law from time to time. His office has al¬ 
ways been, and ever should be, of special importance in 
perfecting the efficiency of the official water service of the state. 
The state engineer should insist on obedience to the statute 
law by persons constructing reservoirs, and by those who desire 
to exchange water between reservoirs and public streams, or to 
turn water from one public stream into another. Since the water 
commissioners are under the control of the state engineer, it is 
believed that it is within his power to direct water commissioners 
to refuse to recognize the rights of persons to divert water which 
is turned into a public stream from some other source of supply, 
unless the statute concerning self-registering devices and other 
legal requirements are complied with. The purpose of the 
statute is that exact justice may be done. The person who adds 
to the amount of water in a running stream by turning water 
therein from another stream or from a reservoir, should certainly 
be entitled to again draw the same amount of water from the 
stream as a just reward for his enterprise and capital invested. 
But on the other hand, every safeguard against abuse of this 
privilege, and to prevent the diversion to the injury of regular 
appropriators from the stream of a greater amount of water 
than is supplied thereto, after proper allowance is made for inci¬ 
dental losses, should be rigidly enforced. 
Special comment should be made with reference to the im¬ 
portance of measuring weirs at the headgates or canals. It is 
unfortunately true and well known that when many of the decrees 
concerning priorities were rendered by the courts, sufficient care 
was not taken to have correct measurements made, whereby any 
ditches were decreed priorities really in excess of their carrying 
capacity. When for a large number of years it has been shown 
by experience, and as the result of careful measurement, that a 
ditch has not carried and cannot carry the amount provided in 
the decrees, sufficient data will be collected to prevent the subse¬ 
quent enlargement of such ditch to enable it for the first time 
to carry the maximum mentioned in the decree, and thereby in¬ 
juriously to affect the rights of junior appropriators. More¬ 
over, such measuring weirs are of great value and aid to the water 
commissioners in distributing and apportioning the water at 
times of scarcity, and when ditches having several priorities 
limited to one or more of their earlier ones. 
