The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-11-10
GREATEST WATER SUIT
EVER LAUNCHED IN UTAH
SaItlake City and -Four Canal Companies Against
Utah County Farmers.
will Determine the Question as to Whether Utah Lake Rese
VOf-MIOns Are Involved

overflow on their lands as the result
OF this dam. A long and complicated
hight followed. AS the final outcome.
compromise point" was established in
1885 at three feet three and a half
inches above lOW-Water mark in the
lake. By this 1t was held that the
people below could still have their res
ervolr and mold back the water but
not to the extent of flooding the farms
around I'll shore Of Utah lake. But
TINS did not end the trouble. The Utah
county farmers held that the water
should never be permitted To go above
compromise point" the Salt Lake
valley people held that II the water
was not permitted to go abeve com
promise point in the spring in the
time Of high water, it would go so far
below the point in the dry season that
they would have no water at al. Lit
igati0n and lawsuits followed, and as a
tlnal result Of all this, three commits
sioners were appointed to have charge
OF the matter, and ever since they have
been the sole judges as to when the
water may be impounded in the lake.
in the interest of the Salt Lake valley
people, and when the dam must be
opened in the interest of the Utah
county people. But for some years past
the water in Utah lake has been so
low that it has not come anywhere
near compromise point" in summer
Ct winter. AS a result Of this the farm
crs in Salt Lake valley have suffered
for water; their crops have dried UP
and hundreds Of thousands of dollars
have been lost This is especially true
Of the districts on the west side of the
Jordan river.
Supply Cut OFF.
The reason for this shortage Of water
is that the waters of the Provo, the
Spanish Fork and the other streams
that would flow into and supply Utah
lake have been appropriated by farm
ers and canal companies on Provo
bench, Spanish Fork bench and around
American Fork, Springville and other
places in that part Of the state. The
attorneys for the Salt Lake valley
canal companies hold that every drop
o. water that has been appropriated
since the building OF the dam in Utah
lake has been illegally appropriated.
They hold that the canal companies
that appropriated the waters of the
Jordan appropriated those waters all
The way 90 their original sources in
the mountains; that Utah lake was
constituted a reservoir for the i'm
pounding of these waters. and that no
one has a right in law to go further
up and appropriate the waters that be-
long to the people who first made the
appropriation further down.
The prayer in the complaint of the
plaintiffs will be to quiet their title to
ali of the waters flowing into Utah
lake, subject, however, to vested rights
dating as late as 1885, and to secure
an injunction to prevent the diversion
of any of such waters. Whether or
not a temporary restraining order will
be applied for, pending the teTmina-
tiop of the contest, is prOblematical at
this time.
Great Interests Involved.
The magnitude of the case that is to
be thus opened is almost staggering.
1t will take in many OF the leading
people Of Lehi, American Fork, Pleas
ant Grove, Provo, SpTingville, Spanish
Frrk and Payscn, but the land owners
on Provo bench and Spanish Fork viii
be the most directly affected by reason
Cf having more recently appropriated
and diverted the waters of the two
leading feeders to the lake reservoir.
1t viii involve a number of these
town corporations and canal cOmpa-
MES, and it viii be difficult to see
where the litigation will stop. On the
other side viii be arrayed the four
canal companies namei above and
lac city of Salt Lake The attorneys
for the salt Lake side Of the case have
been gathering evidence in the case
for months and the understanding is
that they are already well prepared to
begin the fight. It promises to be the
greatest civil suit ever fought in Utah,
ana perhaps the greatest irrigation
suit of the country up to this time.
The money interests involved will run
into the millions.