Varied Sources of Water Rights Information Need Preservation

Shelly C. Dudley contributed this Guest View. She is a senior historical analyst at the Salt River Project Research Archives.

The preservation of historic documents is not only necessary for its intrinsic value — who would want to throw away the Declaration of Independence or the signed statute granting suffrage to women? — but also for the potential information that the documents hold. The destruction of documents can leave gaping holes in our collective memory while at the same time lose precious data.

In the Southwest, there are more potential users of water than available supplies can accommodate. Therefore, legal proceedings, legislative action, and negotiated settlements frequently must determine the apportionment of water rights. Experts, by ferreting out documents in various repositories, such as federal, state and local archives, provide information that can establish land and water rights.

The National Archives in Washington, D.C., or at the various branches around the country, contain information on the early settler’s path to acquiring a patent on public domain land, including the final proof which can list home improvements, irrigation ditches and cultivated land. Irrigation companies often filed rights of way for canals or reservoirs that were filed with the Bureau of Land Management (originally the General Land Office).

The recorder’s office at each county can contain a wealth of information to assist in the reconstruction of land and water development. Warranty and quit-claim deeds might note the transfer of water rights with the sale of the land. Many irrigation companies filed their articles of incorporation and stock transactions with the county. Of particular importance, however, was the filing of notices of water appropriation, which stated the quantity of water diverted, the location of storage and diversion structures, and sometimes the place of use. This notice usually indicated the first intention of a canal company or an individual to divert water for irrigation, mining, domestic, and industrial purposes. Other evidence still needs to be examined, however, to ascertain if the water actually was utilized, because hundreds of notices were filed without a diversion of water ever occurring. The patent files, local and church histories, reminiscences, newspapers and irrigation company records can corroborate the delivery and application of water to the land.

While the county was the original holder of many of these documents, the Arizona State Archives has been in the process of gathering this information to reside in one location in Phoenix. The State is also the owner of its own records, such as the books of the Secretary of the Territory where notices of appropriation and articles of incorporation were also filed. The Arizona Corporation Commission contains the early incorporation papers of irrigation companies as well as subsequent amendments and annual reports.

When water users quarreled among themselves over the division of water, they often went to court to settle their disputes and establish their water rights. Records of these cases reside in different locations; Huning v Porter proceedings are still located in the Navajo County Superior Court files, while the limited records of Hurley v Abbott are in a scattering of places, including Maricopa County, the National Archives at Laguna Niguel and even in Washington, D.C. The court records can contain the testimony of individuals as to land and water usage as well as maps showing irrigation structures and property owners.

Personal and business records, if available, are also a valuable source of information that should be retained. Irrigation company papers can include lists of shareholders, stock shares, water turns, business meeting minutes and the operational and maintenance files detailing work done on irrigation structures. The culture and social structure of the community can be disclosed by the way people and their property are described in these documents. Local histories, reminiscences, diaries, and church chronicles provide supplementary information on the settlement of a community. As one example, the construction date of a reservoir could not be determined by using government sources, but the reminiscences of a local resident provided the needed information because she recalled bringing lunch to her father and grandfather when they worked on the dam. Because her grandfather moved to Mexico in 1900, her recollections provided the evidence that the reservoir was built prior to 1901.

The use of original documents permits the historic record to help determine the past water and land usage and establish rights to those precious resources. Without the preservation of such records, significant decisions might be made without the whole truth being present. While a notice of appropriation or a court case might not be the Declaration of Independence, it can be just as significant to the property owner who wants to establish his own rights. By preserving our heritage we also document our rights.

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