Arizona republican., 1919-04-16
T0 GIVE DECISION IN
 DRY LA|VDERS' CASE AT 100' CLOCK TODAY

Whether the so-called "dry lands under the Roosevelt dam project are to be furnished water immediately by the Salt River Valley Water Users asso- citation is to be decided at 10 o'clock this morning.
 Judge Lyman of the superior court made this announcement yesterday at the conclusion of the hearing of the case of James Aldrich and 200 other so- called dry flanders" against the Water Users association. The plaintiffs asked that the association be restrained from refusing to sell them water, pending the final hearing of the case.
 In the complaint the plaintiffs set up that they are members of the asso- citation and are entitled to their pro- portionate part of the stored water the same as ooher members of the associ ation and further assert that there is an ample supply.
 The plaintiffs presented affidavits to show that there was an ample supply of water to care for these lands and that more is wasted each year by the association, which could be saved, than what these plaintiffs would need.
 The figures as presented by the plaintiffs compiled from the records of the association show that for the last irrigation year, a period of eleven months, there was turned into the l canals and laterals 1,137,926 acre feet, while the amount delivered and charg- ed to the land owners was 606, 755 acre | feet, or a delivery of only 53 per cent of the amount of the water turned into the canals and laterals. This dis crepancy Manager Elliot of the associ- ation explained to be due to the policy of the association in delivering more water to the ranchers than they are charged with, and thtat there was also some loss by evaporation and seepage
 The plaintiffs also presented figures showing that the nine pumps that the association had in operation during the past year were operated only 40.11 pei cent of the time and that in onl1 three months were they operated mor' than 50 per cent of the time. Th' pumps developed a total of 25,32S acr' feet against a possible amount of 61,
 486 acre feet. The association elaine. that it was impracticable to use pump continuously as there was often nor
 water in the canals than the rancher could use.
 
 that the new pumps being installed vii develop about 5000 acre feet of wate a month. The plaintiffs are askin for 25,000 acre feet of water for tn balance of this year, little nor 7 than per cent of the amount of wate l in the reservoir at the present time. It was the contention of Judge Sloa. r for the plaintiffs that there were yer } large quantities of snow and ice on tn 3 watershed and there was every pros , pect of a large run-off as well as
 large normal flow
 The Water Users did not seriousl
 contend that there would be a shortag this year but asserted that they had
 take into consideration a possibl f shortage next year. They advance I the theory that it would be better t let the surplus water in the years whe , the supply was plentiful, to run t , waste down the river, than to give to additional lands, if by doing so the 2 would thereby acquire any right ths f might some time in the future forC f some lands with a vested right to giy & up some part of their share of tt stored water.
 |, It was Judge Sloan's contention @ this regard that these lands had eel = tain rights by being members of th
 association as well as many of thel
 being classed as "B" under the Ker
 decree
 The Water Users also set up the de
 fense that the association could not |
 compelled to deliver water to tt f plaintiffs even though they did hay
 contractual rights for it, by reason a the fact that the project was the proI