The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1910-10-28
our WATERLAWS
EXTRACTS FROM STATE ENG,.
NEER LEAFS ADDRESS AT
PUEBLO MEETING
WATER RIGHTS ON STREAM
recommends State Water Code That
Would Facilitate Prompt Ad-
~ludication of Rights by
the Authorities

? oux Falls-The follovi,g e tact
from the address OF State Eucincev
Lea before the National Ir i~eati4D
congress, will be OF intere in STOW
ing the scope and D alton Of th7
present water laws of South Cal9ta.
Since irrigation became an e ta5-
iished institution in this great western
country, the necessity of regulat ?
the distribution of the water SUI NV
oy statute and the administration of
the water laws by some entral au-
thorlty in each state has been rea' lied.
and this necessity has heen met b7
the creation of the position of state
engineer.
While the office OF state engineer Is
not peculiar to the arid and Sc nj
arid states, it is true that these state
have, for the most part, p1svilha'
themselves viii state engjnce $ who's
duties have to do chiefly with irri-
gaticn.
Since the state engineer is charg,d
with the distribution of water to those
entitled to it's use, an es e tiaI
requisite to such distribution is thu
establishment or determination OF
well defined rights. 1t is a well known
fact that a majority of water rights
in the United States were acquired
with public supervision, the pro, edlre
conforming in most cases to 10 al cls-
toms and usages prevailing at the
time.
In order to furnish information con
corning present methods employed t.
define old water rights, a description
of the procedure followed in my w
state, South Dakota, will be given.
Prior to the year 1905 there was no
state supervision of flowing streams
in South Dakota, and looal CUSTOM
were followed in the mate r Of a
propriating water for beaefic al pr
poses. In the western part of the
state considerable placer mining was
done in the g1lches and a'org III.
streams in the Black Hills. s oh oner-
atoms required the Use of flowing wa.
ter in most instances, ard in such
cases the appropriation would be uade
by posting a not &c on a p1st o" tree
at or near the point of diversion. In
some instances a copy Of the not c.
was fled at the court house. of the
county in which the appropriation
was made, and the appropriately 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 a la"ge
number of appropriations OF waite
which are no longer valid. brt which
will require careful inyest isation tn
separate from those remaining in fil
force ard effect.
The former state laws authori e7
appropriations of water in the manner
described, and the general custom o.
the country permitted app opriat r
to place on record such claims to the
water supply as they deemed adv;s-
able. The natural tendency was to
make the claim large enough to cove
all possible requirements, and in most
greater than there was anv e
pectaiton of using. This resulted In
many cases in absurd and speculative
claims, and the records show hume ;
Gus instances where each Of a mum
Der of claims to water of a stream, II
ed in accordance with the fcrmer
statues, involved a larger ~cuan+itv IF
water than had ever flowed in it, e en.
during flood periods. One nrov sion
of the former statn+es re~Ti ted the
requirement of a water riaht of us1ge
and appropriation under such curcum-
stances was entitled to the enjov-
ment of such a quantity of water as h
actually applied TO beneficial use. Such
water rights, acquired unSe- thu ofd
water laws, as hae been kept alive, are
recognized as valid and Of full 70 ce
The keeping alive of a w9te" right CO..
sisted in making beneficial use OF
the water claimed during a portion,
at least, of each year, and ia lure to
use the water for a period OF two
years, constituted abandonment.
In 1905 South Dakota adopted a
code of water laws p%roidiug for the
adjudication of existing rights and the
complete public control of the water
in the future. The office of ~stateren-
gineer was created, and to the n
gineer was given general ~surervis on
of the waters of the state and of the
measurement and appropriation there
Of. This law was amended and re-en-
acted in 1907 so as to make 1t apple
aDIc 10 dIl UCICuCfdl 1873 VI vow
without limiting its applicat On to iT-
alone.
The state engineer Is authorized to
make photographic surveys OF the
various stream systems of the state,
beginning with those most used for
irr CATION. These surveys comprise a
Measurement of the stream channel
and also if important tributaries All
irrigation bitches along the stream
are surveyed. their capacity dfterm-
med, and the number OF acres Of land
irrigated under them ascer aired. II
Is not practicable to make stream
guag' ngs in connection with these
photographic surveys on account Of
the short time available for this pur
rose. In many eases, however, the
streams have been gagged by engineers