Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-10-27
OUR WATER LAWS
EXTRACTS FROM STATE ENGI-
NEER LEAFS ADDRESS AT
& PUEBLO MEETING
WATER RIGHTS ON STREAM
Recommends State Water Code That
Would Facilitate Prompt Ad-
iudcation of Rights by
the Authorities

Sioux Falls-The following extracts
from the address of State Engineer
Lea before the National Irrigation
Congress, will be of interest in show
ing the scope and operation of the
present water laws Of South Dakota:
Since irrigation became an esta5-
iished institution in this great western
country, the necessity of regulat ng
the distribution of the water supply
by statute and the administration OF
the water laws by some central au-
thority in each state has been realized,
the creation of the position of state
engineer.
While the Office OF state engineer is
not peculiar to the arid and semi
arid states, it is true that these states
have, for the most part, plovlc6s
themselves with state engineers whose
duties have to do chiefly with irri
cation.
Since the state engineer is charged
with the distribution of water to those
entitled to its use, an essential
requisite to such distribution is the
establishment or determination OF
we'll defined rights. 1t is well known
fact that majority of water rights
in the United States were acquired
with public supervision. the procedure
conforming in most cases to lo2al GUS
toms and usages prevailing at the
time.
In order to furnish information con-
corning present methods employed to
define old water rights, description
of the procedure followed in my own
state, South Dakota, will be given.
Prior to the year 1905 there was no
state supervision of flowing streams
iii South Dakota, and local customs
were followed in the matter of an
propriating water for benefic al pur-
poses. In the western part of the
state considerable placer mining was
done in the gulches and along the
streams in the Black Hills. Such oper-
ations required the use of flowing wa
ter in most instances, and In such
cases the appropriation would be made
by posting not &c on a post or tree
at or near the point of diversion In
some instances a copy of the notice
was filed at the court house of the
county in which the appropriation
was made, and the appropriation thus
became a matter of record Most OF
these placer workings have been
abandoned, and the water rights in
such cases have lapsed from none use
In this way the records show large
number of appropriations OF water
which are no longer valid, but which
will require careful investigation to
separate from those remaining in fal'
force and effect.
The former state laws authorized
appropriations of water in the manner
described, and the general custom OF
no fnS n
to place on record such claims to the
water supply as they deemed adv-s
able The natural tendency was tt
make the claim large enough 10 cover
all possible requirements, and in most
ceases greater than there was any eT-
pectaitou of using. This resulted In
many cases in absurd and speculative
claims, and the records show numeh
GUS instances where each of mum
Der of claims to water of stream, II
ed in accordance with the forme
statues. involved larger quantity o
water than had ever flowed in it, ever
during flood periods. One provision
of the former statutes permi+ted tn
requirement of a water right of usage
and appropriation under such curcum
stances was entitled to the enjoy
ment OF such quantity OF water as n
actually applied to beneficial use Suci
water rights. acquired under the o.
water laws, as haze been kept alive, az
recognized as valid and Of full TO ce
The keeping alive Of water right con
sisted in making beneficial use o
the water claimed during a portion
at least. of each year, and ia lure t.
use the water for period of tw'
years, constituted abandonment.
code of water laws proiding for tn
adjudication of existing rights and tn
complete public control OF the waite
in the future. The office of state en-
gineer was created, and to the en-
gineer was given general SUPERVISE
of the waters of the state and of tn
measurement and appropriation there
of. This law was amended and re-en
acted in 1907 so as to make it apple
able to all beneficial uses of watts
without limiting it's application to il
rigation alone.
The state engineer is authorized t
make photographic surveys of tn
various stream systems OF the stat'
beginning with those most used fo
irrigation These surveys comprise
measurement of the stream channe
and also if important tributaries. A
irrigation bitches along the strea1
are surveyed, their capacity determ
ined, and the number of acres of Ian
irrigated under them ascertained.
Ia not practicable to make streal
guagings in connection with thes
photographic surveys on account
the short time available for this pul
pose. In many. cases, however, tn
streams have been gagged by engineer
Highmore Preparations rap dly a.
being made for the constructio