The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-09-28

USERS
Chapter III.

USERS
Chapter III.
In the last issue Of this paper we
gave information regarding the
work of the Water Users Protective
association that was organized In
1911, and in this issue we wish to
inform our readers Of the activities
Of the union Of Upper Snake River
Water Users, which was orafin1zed
in November, 1921.
During the years of early settle
ment when fifty or more of the first
canals were built, there was never
any question of the opportunity and
right to use the flood waters OF
Snake river. 1t was the right to use
the waters of the stream after the
floods had passed that had to be
guarded, and rights were recorded
for that purpose only. Everybody
used as much of the floods as he
could, and it was considered that a
canal or person who drained some Of
the floods out upon the plains or
into the. sand hills and soaked up the
country, filled the underground res
ervoirs and in any way reduced the
volume of water in the river was a
public benefactor. Orders we're
sometimes sent out by the chief ex-
ecutive of the state, calling upon
people to do this for public safety to
save loss of bridges and other prop
erty, and people became aecustimed
to using water lavishly at flood time,
and they did the greater part of
their irrigating at that period. When
the shortage of water came in the
river, they were not needing so
much in the fields, and if they could
get along on what their DEGREES gave
them they considered their water
titles sufficient.
But along came a new thought in
reclamation and opened a new en-
pire on the desert to be watered for
the most part with stored water.
Nobody felt any alarm when they
built a dam at Moran to increase the
size of Jackson Lake. They would
not interfere with the recorded
water rights, and old and new set
tiers alike were given the opportun-
ity to become stockholders in the
enlarged lake.
The water that flowed into the
lake during the irrigating season
was considered the private property
of the old settlers who held title to
1t by court decree, and it was placed
to their credit in the water account
kept by those in authority. All that
the year was considered the prop
erty of the storage corporation
Measurements had been taken for
several seasons to determine just
how much water was owned by the
decreed rights of the old settlers,
and the rest was claimed by the
storage rights.
As the years went on claims were
made that the storage people were
not allowing for the loss by evapora-
ton and seepage, and that this loss
was taken from the rights of those
owning the natural flow in summer.
This brought on disputes, and
measurements and tests had to be
made seeking adjustments, the
division of the water all these years
being in the hands of those owning
the storage rights, and since they
had the records and virtually had
possession of the water thru having
the authority to govern the gates,
the, owners of the natural flow wit
messed what they claimed was the
unfair appropriation of some Of
their own waters. When action was
taken, the storage interests were
given the benefit of the doubts and
in such complicated matter as mix
ing and unscrambling all the waters
of all the tributaries of Snake river
there was very large element of
doubts.
The flood waters of Snake river
came to be regarded by the storage
people as the private property of
their system, and insofar as they
could take possession of it, they did
so. The flood waters flowing into
Jackson Lake could, Of course, be
stored there, but the flood flowing
into the river below that could not.
They could, however, keep the gates
of the lake closed and draw upon
the flood waters of the river for the
lower valley, the Twin Falls
country, entirely for their own irri-
cation so long as there was enough
of it, and when it began to fail, they
could take what there was of it, and
combine It with SO much as they had
to draw from the lake to supply
their needs. 1t was at that point
that those who had been in the
habit of using of the flood waters
found it cut of and they were re-
fused the right to draw anything
but what their DEGREES gave them
the amount they could draw in mid
summer If it was in the river. The
water right belonging to any given
tracts of land is the amount decreed
and recorded for such tract, and the
old settlers did not have the flood
waters in the DEGREES nor the
records. The storage interests
claim the water and in a large
measure deliver it to themselves and
each year stick together at the cleo
ton and elect men of their own
choic to keep on delivering. SO long