The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-04-17
WATER rights
NEARLY SETTLED

State Engineer Kearney, who has
been in Elko county for a week past,
left this afternoon for Carson City,
having completed his investigations of
number OF water matters in the east
ern part of the county. At the recent
Legislature a law was passed relative
to the waters of this state which flow
into the adjoining states, making it
possible for this state to act as inter
venor in suits now pending in the
courts over inters state waters, and in
conjunction with this law Mr.. Kear-
ney has just finished making a thor
ough investigation of the big ranch in
the eastern part of the county, known
as the old Sparks-Herald ranch, now
owned by the Utah Construction COM
pany.
Salmon River Land and Water compa-
ny, of Rogerson, Idaho, against the
Utah Construction company for all the
water in the Salmon river, which flows
through the Sparks ranch, and from
which this ranch has been getting their
water. Several years ago the Idaho
company took up huge tract of land
in Idaho under the Carey Act, and to
supply the water for the lands, built
monster dam on the Salmon river in
Idaho, near Rogerson. This reservoir,
when filed, will contain 10000 acre
| feet, but since the completion of the
dam, the run-off has been but frac-
| tion of the amount figured on, and
suit has been brought In the federal
court at Boise, idaho, for the entire
flow of the river.
Under the new law the State of Ne
vada is now able to step in and take
part in the suit as an interested par
| ty, and Mr.. Kearney's trip was for
the purpose of gathering data for a
report to the attorney general, whose
| duty it is to handle the states case.
A second suit, similar in character,
has been fled against this same com
| pany by the Oakley project of Idaho,
| for the waters of Goose Creek,
smaller stream in the same vicinity.
Mr.. Kearney says that the Utah
Construction company have Approxi-
mately 1000 acres in grain and are
breaking up and putting under culti-
walton $500 additional acres along
side the Thousand Springs Creek, to be
irrigated from reservoirs which are
about completed. The upper reservoir
having capacity of 10000 acre feet
of water, and the lower a capacity Of
l12, 900 acre feet. These reservoirs are
not vet filed, as the annual spring run
off this is practically nothing. The
streams are low, when they should be
running bank full and the snow in the
mountains is very short. This compa
nv also proposes to build still another
dam higher up the stream
| The state engineer says that from
| the reports that have been received at
his office and from personal obbserva-
| tion the water will be short this year
| all over the entire county, and that
| the late permits will be compelled 20
| take what is left after the prior rights
have been supplied.
In speaking of the change made IN
the water law by the late legislature,
Mr.. Kearney said that about the only
change made was the matter of filing
the records and proofs with the courts.
In the old law the state engineer was
empowered to adjudieate the water
rights of the users on any stream, and
lif the after users had been notified of
| the determination they failed to file
suit to either modify or set them
aside, after six months, the findings
of the engineer were considered final.
| In the new law this has been changed
so that after the state engineer has
| rendered findings for the water, he
makes a report of his findings to the
owners and to the court. The court
sets a date for the fling or any ex-
ceptions to the findings of the state
engineer, and if no contest is entered
the findings of the state engineer are
approved.
ssWe have practically all maps and
claims covering the Humboldt river
system at the present time" said Mr..
Kearney. Conforming with the pro-
visions of the amended statute, 90
DAYS notice will be given to all in
terested parties to permit them to file
any additional data. All outstanding
claims must be fled within the 90
| davs mentioned. The claims will then
be abstracted and all parties served
with a copy, so that contests may be
| fled against any erroneous or exces-
sive claims. The contests, if any are
| fled, will be heard and decided before
findings of water rights are filed and
submitted to the court. We hope to
complete this work before many
months, though we realize that it is
perhaps the largest and most comph-
Gated stream in the west to adjudi-