Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-04-24
Los NIetos irrigation Law.


ton law, passed at the recent SEES
sion of the Legislature, for 10
Nietos Township:
!, Sections to 4, inclusive, consti
tutes Los Nietos Township an Irri
, CATION district; provides that Their
shall be q Board of three Waite
Commissioners and one Water
, Over seer; requires the Board o.
Superv isors, on petition of 30 irri'
gators of said township, to appoin
three residents of the district al
! Commissioners and one resident a.
Overseer, all of whom are required
within ten days of such appoint
ment to take the oath of Office ant
file their certificates of appoint
ment with the County Clerk and 6
bond in $1,000 each; the Commits
sioners must within fifteen days
after having qualified organize by
the election of one of their mum bel
as President, one as Treasurer and
one as Clerk; the Overseer of Water
and the Treasurer shall each file a
bond in $4,000, to be approved by
the County Judge, for the faithful
performance of their duties. Said
Commissioners and Overseer so ap
pointed shall hold office until their
successors are elected and qualified,
which election shall be at the gen.
eral election every two years there.
after.
Sec. 5 requires the Board of Su-
pervisors in issuing election proc
lamations to insert an order for the
election of three Commissioners
and ole Overseer of Water for said
Water district, to be voted for in
the same manner rs other town
ship officers.
Sec 6 requires the Board of Com
missioners to take possession of all
water courses, bitches, etc.. except
such as are owned by private
parties or corporations, and shall
determine the amount of water that
shall be used as an irrigatlng head
and cause the same to be issued to
irrigators; to use every means for
the utilization of all the water;
shall have power to receive con-
veyances for rights of way for
dams, bitches, reservoirs, and ca
nails; shall have power to maintain
actions for the condemnation of
rights of way for bitches, etc., over
any lands in the district in the
manner provided by law for the
condemnation of rights of way for
roads, etc.
Sec. s requires the Commission
ers to have an alphabetical
list of irrigators, with tho amount
of land heretofore irrigated, owned
by each, made out; to pre-
scribe such rules and regulations
as may be required for the proper
irrigation of crops; to hear and de-
termine all differences arising be-
tween irrigators and the Overseer
OF water or between irrigators when
submitted to them; to order the dis
tribution of water by the Overseer
to those entitled, beginning at the
head of the main source of the
ditch, thence to the next and so on
throughout the district; provided
the supply of water is sufficient to
water the entire district within 80
days; and in case the water is in
sufficient, then the Board must
determine the amount of water and
the time to be used, so as to insure
n crop to the greater number, and
not allow the water to be wasted
by wetting long bitches or for wa
tering stock. When water is turn
ed in at the head of the ditch, per-
sons OH the side bitches must re-
ceive the same by some represent
tative of the side ditch selected by
the irrigators of said ditch, from
the overseer, and notice in writing
of the time each irrigator
on said side ditch is
entitled to use the same;
and when the water is so TUNED in
to side ditch, any person using
the water from said side ditch who
neglects or refuses to use tho water
shall be precluded from the use of
water until the next regular time
when the water is again turned ON.
No person shall be entitled or al.
lowed to sell his run of water off
his side ditch, or to exchange runs
of water from the side ditch to
which it belongs, and all persons
using water from the main ditch
must use the same on his turn, and
in case he or they refuse or neglect
to use the same at the time desig-
mated, he or they shall lose his or
their run OF water for that time
and shall in no case be allowed to
exchange or sell his or their run of
water to be taken out below the
next side ditch below him or them,
nor above the next side ditch
above.
Sec. s makes it the Overseer's
duty to take charge of and manage
all the waters, dams, bitches, etc.,
and carry out the orders of the
Commissioners; he may appoint
one or more deputies subject to the
approval of the Board of Irrigators;
see that the bitches, ETC., are kept
in proper repair; keep correct &C.
count between the district and the
irrigators; collect all moneys aris-
ing from the sale of water and pay
the same over to the Treasurer of
the district once o month, taking O
receipt therefor, which he shall file
with the Clerk of the district. In
the discharge Of his duties, he is
empowered to make arrests, with
or without process, for any unlaw-
full interference with any of the
waters or works of the district, and
to take the person or persons so
arrested before any magistrate of
the township to be dealt with ac-
cording to law.
Sec. 8 prescribes the duties of the
/ Trn aurar