The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-04-04
Judge Dietrich Fixes Amount of
Water Nevada Co. May Use.
INSTALLATION OF MEASURING
DEyISES is REQUIRED.
Utah Construction Company Awarded
Prior Right to 1850 Acre Feet.
Salmon Tract Next in Order.

An important decision handed down
by Judge Frank S. Dietrich of the fed
eral district court fixes 12,5OO acre
feet of water as the amount which
may be used annually by the Utah
Construction company for the irriga-
tion of its lands along the Salmon
river, and to be derived from the flow
of that stream. The Importance at
tached to the decision is based on the
grounds it settles a controversy which
has been up for some years.
In part, Judge Dietrich says in his
decision
at is adjudged and decreed that the
defendant Vineyard Land and Stock
company, a corporation, as right su
perior to each and all rights of the
plaintiffs, is entitled annually to use
12,500 acre feet of the waters of said
stream, said right representing and
comprising all of the appropriations
of the defendant and it's predecessors
in interest prior to the year 1907, said
appropriations having been made at
different dates, all prior to the initia-
tion of any rights by the plaintiffs.
And it appearing that said appropria-
tions were all made for lands contig-
uous to or in the close vicinity of said
stream or contiguous to or in close
vicinity of tributaries of said stream
from which the water used on said
lands was diverted, which said lands
are hereinafter described, and that
the net loss to the flow of the stream
by the use upon said lands of said
1880 acre feet does not ordinarily ex-
ceed 1000 acre feet, and that the net
loss of the diversion of said water to
which the defendant has sought to
apply a large portion thereof since the
initiation of the plaintiffs rights would
be very much in excess of 1000 acre
feet it is further decreed that the
defendants said right, and the whole
thereof, is restricted to the lands for
which said appropriations were made,
which lands it is impracticable to de-
scribe by metes and bounds.
"That the water which the defendant
is entitled to divert under it's said ap-
preparations to the aggregate amount
of 12,500 acre feet for use upon such
portion of the lands above described
as was reclaimed thereby prior to the
year 1907, shall be diverted from the
channel of Salmon river or Salmon
creek and it's tributaries through
bitches, canals or other conduits, pro-
vided with suitable measuring devices
for measuring the amount of water
diverted from the channel of such
streams.
"And, subject to the aforesaid rights
of the plaintiffs, said defendant is en-
titled annually to divert and use $4,000
acre feet of the water of said Salmon
river or Salmon creek, said right to
date from May 1, 1911, the same being
subsequent and subordinate to the sew
eral rights of the plaintiffs The water
embraced in this right is to be di-
verted from the stream by means OF
what is known as the Highline or
Harrell canal, extending from point
in the E15 of the NWlA of section "a
township 46 north, range Ga east, to a
point in the NEA of section 30, town
ship AZ north, range east, in the
state of Nevada.
"It is further ordered and decreed
that the plaintiffs install suitable
and efficient automatic measuring anc
registering device at their point of di-
version, and that the defendant install
uniform measuring devices at the sew
eral points where it diverts water from
the channel of said Salmon river OF
Salmon creek and of any of its tribu
taries; all such devices to be of sucf
design as to automatically register the
amount of water diverted"