The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1913-01-10
WATER PROBLEM
IS COMPLICATED
Suit Between Users and Irrigation
Company Should be Compfo-
missed, Says Commissioner


the State of Washington held con-
tinuation of the hearing in the case
of the Water Users Association vs..
The Northern Pacific IrrigationCom-
pany, at the city hall last Tuesday.
Harry E. Wilson, one of the mem.
bers of the Commission who held
the first hearing, was present with
an engineer in the employ of the
commission and a court reporter.
While report as to the rights of
J the Water Users will be submitted
by the Attorney-Generai and the
! Commission will make a report, the
matter, in the opinion of Mr.. Will
son, was not one for the Commission
to decide.
The Water Users tried to prove at
the hearing that the irrigation COM
pany was common carrier, that
the water they delivered did not be-
long to them, that when they sold
the land their profit accrued thereon,
and that they were entitled to no
more. By evidence of Engineer
Roberts was shown that in several
cases the weirs with which water was
measured were not accurate, and
that while the buyers of double water
rights received more than twice the
amount of the single allowance, the
single water rights were cut down to
the actual measurement.
Mr.. Rudkin, for the irrigation
company, attempted toshow that the
company endeavored to give ten to
fifteen per cent more than the origin
al water rights called for and in
every case where there was trouble
with the weir the company had the
faults corrected as soon as their at
tention was called thereto.
Mr.. Burrows, the engineer in the
employ of the commission, testified
that he had examined the books of
the company and found that the
actual cost for the delivery Of the Or
iginal contract amount Of water was
$1.63 per acre per annum. He al
so testified that if every water user
on the 5000 acres Of land under the
ditch would agree to take double
water right the company could de-
liver it at a cost of in the neighbor-
hood Of 1920 per acre per season.
At the conclusion of the hearing
Mr.. Wilson stated that this case was
by far the most complex and difficult
of any that has come up before the
commission for decision. From the
aspects of the case he was of the op-
inion that if the case was definitely
settled, it must be done in the
higher courts, as he thought it was
beyond the jurisdiction ofthe powers
of the commission. However, he
favored compromise, and suggest
ed that the commission procure COM
petent engineers to make an exam
ination of the company's system,
and let both the company and the
users stand by the suggestions made
by the experts. In this regard he
stated that in order to best get the
full results from the water that had
already been purchased, the users
must do one of the two things, either
establish strict system of rotation
or open bitches must be abandoned.
He favored the scientific rotation.
owing to the expense connected with
the piping system.
The evidence of Mr.. Roberts, the
engineer hired by the users, and of
Mr.. Burrows, the commission en-
gineer, was taken as well as that of
Mr.. Rudkin. A full report will be
submitted to the attorney general
for an opinion as to whether or not
the case can be settled by the Com
mission. Mr.. Wilson promised that
The commission would attempt to
,hresh the matter out and would SUBJ
nit full report to both parties in
crested as soon as possible.