September October 2017

16 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 40, No. 5 Water Rights Quiz Continued from page 15 T 1867 1872 1884 1894 1868 1875 1884-1884 1895-1903 1889-1893 1904 1869 1878 Swift begins using some of the water from the creek which reaches his land. Estes again posts notices along the creek, stating his claim to as much water as he may need from the stream. Gardner acquires the Gordon andManville tract, along with the water rights which were deeded to them by Estes, and use of water from the creek upon the Gardner property begins. Estes moves away from his homestead and resides henceforth in a nearby town, but he rents out his land, so his irrigation ditches continue to be used by his tenants. Estes plants an orchard, further intensi- fying his use of water from the creek, so the streambed below his tract is often dry. Ditchesaredugon theproperties lyingdown- streamfromthe Estes place, but Estes takes no action to prevent his neighbors fromus- ing water from the creek. Kennedy, a tenant farmer occupying both the Gardner property and the Swift proper- ty, begins occasionally cutting notches into the small dams which steer water from the creek into the Estes ditches, in order to al- low more water to flow downstream for use upon the lower properties. In dry times, all of the creek water is used on the Estes property, leaving none for the downstreamparties. In1897, Gardner’swid- owasks Estes toacknowledge that sheholds rights to some of the water flowing in the creek and Estes agrees that she does. Near theendof thisperiodhowever, Estes conveys his land toWright, who declines to acknowl- edge that either Gardner, Swift, or any other downstream land owners hold any rights to the water flowing in the creek, insisting that he is entitled touse every dropof it, and that he is not legally required to leave any water in the creek for use by others. Seeking to obtain legal title to his land, Estes files a patent application with the US. A federal patent is issued to Estes. Use of the creek water by all parties con- tinues and no issues arise. Gardner files a legal action against Wright, asserting that by virtue of her deed she holds the water rights which were deeded by Estes to Gordon andManville, therefore Wright cannot use all of the creek water and must allow as much of the water as she needs to flow downstream for her use.