The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1909-09-09
new WATER Law
OF OREGON

The state OF Oregon has recentl
adopted system OF public control
for her water resources. This system
js in advance of other states In that
rights to the use of water for power
development are limited to a period
of forty years. subject to renewal un-
der the laws then existing. ComEen-
sation to the public FOR the use of
this resource ia also IrJVided.
Under the old law no foundation
existed for titles to water. Utter
confusion prevailed as to the legal
status o. water right. Litigation
among water users grew to such an
extent as to prove serious burden
upon irrigated agriculture Dams
and fumes we're annually destroyed
and lives threatt ned in community
quarrels to secure proper division of
streams. Under such conditions cap
ital declined to invest, and home
seekers went to other states wheIe the
purchase uf water tight did not
mean the purchase of law suit. To
remedy these conditions, complete
code OF law was enacted, which be-
came effective February "a, 1909.
The ultimate object of this law is
to secure proper division OF streams
among those entitled to. its use. 1t is
not supported by any constitutional
provisions relating to water, but rests
entirely upon the police power otsthe
state to preserve the public peace,
health and safety.
Its enactment is of great impor.
tance to Oregon as the making of the
"Doomsday Book" in 1885, by Will
liam the Conqueror, which was the
trst..attempt in England to systema
tize land titles.
The new law Ia an attempt to sys-
temize water titles in Oregon. Its en-
forcement devolyes upon the state en-
gineer and the division superinten-
dent of each of the two divisions
into which the state has been dl
vided. County water right records
have been abandoned in favor OF the
central office with larger owners. Be.
sides few miscellaneous provisions,
this law is divided into three divisions
which will be taken up In order. l)
The determination of early rights :
(2) the granting OF new rights; (3)
protection of all rights when deter
mined. The state engineer and the
two superintendents sitting as board
have power to determine all water
rights on given stream upon the
application of any water user. This
determination il based upon field sur
veys by the state engineer and testi-
mOny is in the form of answer to
questions upon a simple blank toIm,
which Is sent to each claimant thirty
days in advance of the date of hear
ing. When all of the claims have
been subscribed tc under oath before
the, superintendent, they are, at
ter notice, submitted for the inspec-
tion of all interested water users and
contests permitted. In this way, nc
curacy of information is assured, as
self. interest will compel each water
user to see that his neighboI's g claim
is not in excess to that to which he ls
entitled.
Upon the evidence collected an Or
der will be entered by the board set
ting forth Ia tabular form the prior
ity, location, and extent of each right.
This order becomes effective at once
and can REINFORCED by the appoint
ment of master. 1t is later filed
with the circuit court for confIma
ton. 1t no exceptions are taken
within Thirty days a decree must be
entered affirming the determination
of the board. A water right oeItiti
cate ia then ISSUED by the board to
each claimant, based upon the de-
cree. This certificate will be to the
water right what the patent from the
United States is to the land title. The
law operates to makes the water ap'
purtenant to the land where used.
The fees payable in advance are ex
pected to about equal the costs to the
state of these deter limitations.
The demand tor such law is show
by the fact that applications for the
determination of rights to water on
forty different streams have already
been filed with the board. About
one thousand claimants are involved
in one of these deter uinations. The
experience gained by "be board In the
first determinations is carried to the
next stream, perhaps iu another Judi
cial district, and their report OF de
tects in the law will be valuable
gnide to the legislature tor further
action.
No tight to the use of water from
any stream can hereafter be acquired
without compliance with law. 1hit
insures com plete and reliable RECORD
of new rights, which is necessary Il
promote the development of our wate
resources. The reliability Of thi
record is further assured by the pen
atty making it a misdemeanor tt
divert water until the issuance OF
permit by the state engineer. Thi
officer has power to limit the amour
of water asked tor, and to Fix the tim
within which the works must he com
pleted and the water applied to bene
fetal use. A permit can he denied