WSPC00104

• File Number: 8408
• Description: River Basin General Correspondence
• Date: 1/1/3000
• Title: Fourteenth Annual Report, Pathfinder Irrigation District
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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FOURTEENTH ,\NNU~L REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE PATHFINDER IRRIG'~TION DISTRICT, January 30th,1940.

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Again it becomes the duty of the Board of Directors to make a
report of their stewardship of the affairs of the Pathfinder Irrig,tion
Diotrict to the water users thereof in annual meeting. The secretary-
treasurer' G r"J,orts show the finances of the District are in a health-
ful condition. The District is still operating on a cash basis and
there is ~ slightly l~rge cash balance in the operation and maintenance
fund for the district than there was a year ago. The manrrger'G report
shows that the physical condition of the District's properties is good
and the standard of maintenance is good.

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There is always a variety of problems to present themselves each
year and to be given consider~tion. Tnc l~" cuits th~t were pending a
year. ago effecting the rights of our water users to the waters of the
North Platte River haVE caused the Board Considerable study.

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Suits: T:w darren Act S'..liL~ arE still pending. The decision relative
to the rights of the United States to claim and deliver developed
return flow as a part of its store-ge to W,:"CCC1 ;,ct contrc.ctors was
adverse to the intErest of tho project and the District. After con-
siderable pushing on the part of not only the Pathfinder, but also of
the Goshen and Gering-Ft. Laramie Districts, tho Bul""_u 'C;']lc:cled the
case and it has been carried up. PC:1Ci;l;' t:,;;. outcome of this case,
darren Act COI~r~ctors were supplied in 1939 n part 8f their water
supply out of the P~t;lfinder Reservoir storage instead of out of
return flow waters and thc amount available for USe of the'll t".r Users
under the project was diminished accordingly. Tilts C":Sc is drawing a
lot of attention and delegates from Colorado at the N~tional Reclam~tion
Association meeting in Deuver in November secured a passage of a res~
lution at that convention c.sking the United States to cease further
action in the case. It ,is certainly to the interest of the Pr8ject and
the United St~tes th~t this case be carried to the C8urt of the last
resort and that the principles laid d8wn in the Ramsh)rn ~nd the Ide
cases be re-affirmed. In both cases the right to tne re-use of develoned
water was decided in the f~vor of the United St~tes.

Kearney Suit:

The Ke~rney Suit, so called, was decided ~g~inst the Kearney
C::.n:tl C)mpany and h~s been /l.RpeDJ.ed to the Supreme Court of the State
of Nebr-::.ska. T,is case is coming up for ~rgument in the nenr future.
Our district is not a party t) the suit nnd withdrew its support to
the defense of the case bvcause we felt th~t ~nly n~tural flow rights
of this area were mr:teri,o,lly effectvd and then 8nly ,".fter the middle
of the irrig".tion season. It is true that our District has a n~tural
flow right but it is )f such a l~te priority th~t we seldom get any
natural flow water after the first of July and many years not thnt late.
Normally the P~thfinder Irrig".tiln District gets the use of about 100,000
acre feet of natural f18w water. The Board felt th~t the real place to
preserve the water )f this p rtion of the river is in the developed and
return flow; thnt we could not well join in fibhting the bnttle of ather
irrig:ctors in arguing nginst the l'w of prLlrity, Hhen th,se same in-
terests were bending every eff8rt to t~ke ".way from this project the

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