The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-18
COSTLY WATER SUIT
People Claiming Three Times
JOrdan's Flow.
HEARING GOES SLOWLY
TRIAL WILL CONSUME SOME
TIME YET.

AS the trial of the big water case be
fore Judge Morse drags on in the dis
trict court a situation bordering upon
the humorous develops to vary the mo-
notony Of the seriousness of things in
the litigation that has such an i'm
portant relation to the water interests
Of Salt Lake City. the principal canal
companies and others claiming rights
in the flow OF Jordan river. For five
weeks the case has been on trial and
during the latter two or three weeks
claimants to portions of the river flow
adverse to the interests of the city and
the large canals have been offering tes-
timOny in support of their claims. So
much of this testimony has been offered
that it would be necessary for the river
to flow three times its normal volume
in irrigating seasons to supply all the
water claimed by the small bitches af-
ter the division has been made among
the big canals above.
Much of the testimony of this sort
offered is by farmers and millers who
lay claim to all the water they can get.
The only measurements they have made
are gagged by the ditch-ful. When the
ditch is full they are enjoying their
rights, as one of the attorneys in the
case expressed it, and when there IS a
shortage. even in seasons of drought,
they affect to believe that some one is
encrOachinG upon their rights.
Suit Brought by City.
The case at issue was instituted by
the municipality and some of the prln-
cipal canal companies to quiet their IL
| tie to a sixth each of the rivers now,
which rights, it is alleged, the Jordan
/ of the claimants below are disputing by
adverse uses during the past few years.
/ AS the case dragS along 1t is apparent
that all who claim water below the
point of diversion of the big canals are
siding with the power company, which
! is seeking to establish rights to all of
/ the flow of the river above its plant for
| power generating purposes.
| Should these claims be decreed in IA
VOT of the power company and its sup
! pOrters. the result to the municipality
/ would be most disastrous, for II would
! be estOpped from taking its canal out
[ at the highest point, thereby preventing
/ the contamination of the plan to make
/ Utah lake do its fullest duty as res
! erYOir to enable the city to make an
/ advantageous exchange with the own
ers of a portion of Big Cottonwood
water to be piped into the city.
! Until the city's right to sixth of the
flow of Jordan river at the lake outlet
is again decreed by the court, no great
amount of money will be expended in
] carrying out the plans to effectually
/ solve Salt Lake City'S problem of scar
/ city of water in dry seasons and for
all of its future needs. It will probably
/ require another three weeks to conclude
the trial and probably year yet to Sc
! cure final adjudication from the su-
/ preme court. The expense to the city
/ in having its title tc the right so long
used in Jordan Narrows is very con-
siderable. The legal points are being
/ watched by Richards & Varian and the
/ preparation of testimony has fallen to
the lot of City Engineer Kelsey, but
: without any other officer of the munich
pality helping to fight the case, when
| there are scores of attorneys, engineers,
! witnesses and persons employed on the
other side to look up testimony.
Had the city years ago placed perma-
! nent measuring WeiTS in the river and
at the intake of its canal, as it was
urged to do, there would have been no
difficulty in producing an indisputable
J record of the flow at ali seasons and If
REPUTABLE evidence of the city's rights.
Since a year ago the record of measure
ments has been accurately kept, but
prior to that time il is difficult TO spe-
! officially refute the testimony of wit
nesses on behalf Of those who have been
! seeking to establish claims adverse to
the city and the big canal companies.
Litigation Is Expensive.
The long, costly and vexatious lftiga-
ton that is calling for an adjudication
in the district court has given rise to a
sentiment in favor of the passage of
the bill pending in the legislature to
place the irrigation interests of the
people on a consistent basis. Especially
the farmers whose vital interests are
at stake, favor the proposed law and
so far as known only the lawyers are
opposed to the measure, for as things
have been these many years they have
waXed fat over the many water cases
and they evidently hope to see a con-
tinuatiOn of the controversies
The bill that is pending in the Iegisla-
ture and has the endorsement of the
governor and the state engineer is an
adaptation of the Wyoming law on ir-
rlSatiOn which has given such general
satisfaction in the neighboTing state
that only one appeal has been taken to
the courts in ten years from the adju-
diCatiOns of the state board of control
Primarily the purpose of the law is to
put an end to the disastrous litigation
over water rights.
The bill proposes to arrange for the
proper measurement and division of
water under authority of a board of
control of irrigation and to provide for
the recognition and adjudication of ex-
listing and vested water rights 1t is
said by farmers and engineers who
have studied the provisions of the bill
that the proposed law offers the cor
rect solution Of the many water prob
lens that have veXed the people and
wasted their means without purpose for
j