Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

._

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

pr. %oorg*‘L1.Gor

r tio p a r p a r * la thla dkreotly or inalre8tl;l n water aw rarlmm BI: f thing tI%erein, OF in ewh that it till pmwbL7 rr*Gh tere 0r maah water aours or or water IFW wbdoh step :e

r h o ltuts 3-6r ttni rimpi to mu w8ter QOUFS~ OP publ%c bo4y sf water nitbcmt aietlnetion betrren aurfaoe au4 oub-aurfaoe mtere. If un4wgroun4 water8 may oonatltute pub- lie waters than we deem them undmibte.adl7to hare been LnaludeG by tha hg~d.atu~ur~, beoawe the ltrtute embrass* all publle waters wlthaut eterptkoa. htwm-gr0ma watera hate besn geaerally olarsed 86 el&her (11 underground rtreamt vlth a ourrent of flow

P, Dr. George W. Cox, page 2

in a a*rlnlte oour8e and (b) percolating water*, percolating alalerrl~ without aerinite direotion, referred to a8 *aimt84a peraolatl waters. * gee reatlon 1188, Kinney on *Irrlgatlon an4 Water% lghta." Undorgrouaa stream8 a* thus defined have been un%v- eraally held to oonstitute publ.lo water* in the same manner a8 rurfaoe rtre8mr. Chier Su*tloe Cureton rpeakl for the 8upreme Court In the i4qarRg oa84 or Texas Company v8. 3 urkett, 296 8.W. 273 reoognlma by lmpll*atlon the pub110 aharaoter ofs~k;~aoe rtreus whioh are not 8ubJeot to pr&vate ornerrhlp. : *In other word*, ln*oiar a# thir reoord dl**loma*, they were neither 8urfaee water nor lubmrfaae rtream8 wlth defined crhannel8, nor riparlan water in anJ form, an4 thereiore were the exolu8lvr property of hrkett.” 296 6.W., at p. 278.

In c o l Jurir Vol. 67, 1). 8Jl, It is 8aid: ‘Where a subterranean T 8 ream flbW8 la a dlrtlnet, permanent, well known an4 aerln*a ohmmel, it la governed b7 the same rules a8 applled to 8 naturalwat8rwnarr* on th elurfao*. . . .* C In Harlaopa Co. Hun. water Conservation D~etrlat So. 1 VS. kuthwe8t Cotton Oerpanj, 4 P. tea) 369 it wa8 held that ,:,: ,:,, the om~aaterl~ti%r or 8 ,,‘water, aour8e’ whehier 8urirae. OF :.&j&= tefishsan are that It *hall brve a ohanael eon*l8tlag or a wll- de?lneU bed and bank, an4 ourrent of water.

It 18 stated in Longam work on Irrigation, 680. 92, that %here vaterr oomeot or gather in a 8treaa flowing in a defined 0hmn81, uo it.

It I* our opinion therefore that Artlole 4444 Re- vlead Civil Statute*, 1925, Inoluder rubmrtaoe stream AI pub- 110 water8 ooureea on bodler, of water. There 18 another type OS underground water, in all respeot the oharaoterlstlae of whlth do not oonfora to thore of either of the two general alarret of underground vater referred to above. This olals8 har been Judl- olally reoognlred though not generally a6 a (llctlnat clams. In Corpus Jurla, Vol. 67, p. RX, lt 11, said:

*The general rule ve*tln@: the ownerehlp of peroolatlng water in the owner OS the land has been held not to apply to the waters of an artleian bam1n underlying the land* of several owner* llpr to oontw subterrs horwv thrq&out a bu- tween an w and Lower lm~ervloua atrw ,

Dr. George X. Cox, page 3

and in which there lr more or lees movement, both perpendicular and horizontal, through the earth and rook.

an4 at page 834, la Corpur Jurls, Vol. 67, It le maid:

*Where a subterranean stream flare In a aietinot, permanent, veil known an& 4eflneU ohnnnml, it I* governed by the sase rule6 as applied to P natural water aourme on thb sur- faoe, an6 the owner* of land beneath which It flowe have the same right with reapeot to it e* rlparlan proprietors bare with rerpeot to a *treu on the murfaaa, aon4ltlonea on the vater ooolng to hI8 land in a natural flow, regnrdleme of whether or not It Is under pre*eure. Also the rule* a* to rlparian rights of ovnera on a natural vater Bourre on the eurfaae extends . . . to located in vu11 m

In the ease of the City of Lo8 Angelee vs. Hunter, ,)~~~,~:.~~a.,~~?V~ .+efJme 603, v?,~+d tW: miPeroolatlng vatera’, In the aommon law eenme of the tars, are thoee that are m&rant, van&wihg drape, moving by gravity In any and every d;reotlon along the line of least rerl*t- anac. s does not s* par-- form a vast ;~a48 of t&fir conflmb in a -led witi fietriQ& alwaye slowlg moving downward to the outlet in oonformity with the physloal lav to attaln a uniform level.’

In the Lo* iingelem oa*e, the Supreme Court of CalIf- ornla held that the olty of Los Angeler VMJ entitled to an ln- Junction against an aggregate of tvo hundred and maven 4cfe;e;:s from pumping water from the *anCs of Ean Fernannbo Valley. there warn a findlng on the part of the court that the water* developed ln the wells of the appellsnts a’re part of the oub- terranean flow of the Los Angeles filver, the court nevertheless reoognlzea the faot that the water diE not In fact mupvwt the surface ,flov a* an ordinary underflow of water, and therefore It prooeeded to dl*tlnlfuleh the peroolatlng water* from ordinary *. peroolat1ng waters and declared them to,be oi auoh a character

C Dr. George %'. Cox, page 4

a6 eruentlall~ to oonstltute a "flow." %d the valley waters aotuallg oonatltuted the underflow of the river, It would under the deci6iOn6 hart been eonsidtreb a part of the river and there wOUM h6~e bean no need to ai6ttn~' i6h euch water from Ordinary or dlffured peroolatlng waters. $ he court raid:

lUnque8t1onably the outtlng off of this 6upp1y would as OOPlpl%tely deetroy the Lo6 ~ngelec River a6 would th6 outting off of the Great Laker destroy the St. Lawrenoe. hn Ternando Valley may indeed be regarded se a Great Lake filled with loose detritus, Into uhloh the drainage from th6 neighboring mmntalnr flowr, and the outlet ol whloh 16 the Lo6 Angel86 River. B br t& the6e w-a af ogre moy&@Or6 &W~P t&Q &&~w~In~e~ all 16 B irr the BPITOWO~ thonnhw 00 Apgsler River ~1-0s ffnque8tlonablg ll6c a atrlous Interruption a? & interference with thl.8 supply would certainly impair the volume of water oarrled by the Los Angeler River as though the ln- ttrruptlon and lnterferenot were with a aurfaoe rlowlng tributary thereof. The water6 of the 66~ E-E~ Valltj'8ra thkroior& not 'peroolatlng '~'"'fs+nando watera' in the oommon law len6t of the term, vagrant, wuI&arlnga drop6 moving by gravity in any and every direction along the lln6 of lea66 rtrlrttnoe. a x&=6 u-6 lt 18 true but wikf In W of water ou -cl m rlwayr elowly moving down- ward to the outlet in the &fox% In oonfonnlty with phySIca laws to obtaln a uniiorm level.

"$0 It It in616ttd by appellant that these water6 6re ptroolatlng waters, and that of them they have the oomdton law right of absolute ownershIp a6 modliltd in thI6 6t8tt only by the dootrine of %atz VII. Uallclnshaw, supra, namely that the quantum of water which they u6e @hall be In reasonable propor- tIon6 to the whole thereof, and that the water 60 taken @hall be use& upon the eur?ac% 6011 of the bssln, or, at I.eaat, not carried away for exterior utt, to the InJury of any ownerw of land rfthin the basin.*

In Calirornta even diffu6td ptroolatinu weters a6 Indi- ~-. c6ted above art 6ubJect to appropriation with the UmItatIon that they nhel1 oot be appropriated beyond a res6nnable ude, propor- tionate to the whole thereof, In Texae pPrcolatInp water6 are

C Dr. George v. Cox, page 5

not 6ubJtot to appropriation. In the above ctated caee the City of Los Angeles in order to assert it6 rlghta to the tn- tire u6e of all of the water, found It neotsaary to rhow that the 6ubJtct water6 dli not fall wlthln the category of ordl- nary percolating water6, admlttlng that 6UOh waters were In a senre ptroolatlng. The court raid: "the waters of the San Fernando Valley therefore are not 'percolatlnq wattr6' In the common law stn6c Of the term. . . .* so also here by reason of the great putzllc lnt6rcst Inhering In reservoirs of undtr- ground waters that are confined within definite strata, bearing 611 of the characterlstIo6 of a regular surface or sub-surfaoe stream except that their flow 16 impeded by rand, the court6 of th16 6tate we belltvt will apply the rame dlrtinction ao applied by th6 California court6 holding thst 6uch water6 ;f;; no;eordl- nary percolating water8 in the oommon law tense. ordlnarlly appertalnl to peroolatlng waters in Texao would not therefore apply. "& ndtrground strata or rand6 saturated with 610~1~ moving watar in a definite Qlreotlon and wlthln confined llalte, hart dImtn6lons and dlrtotlon a606rtaInablt with soltntl- flc aocuraoy. Th16 16 016aPly 6hown by 6olentIfio paper on the subJect attached hereto. Thir type of underground water oan /^~ properly be ola66tU a8 a w6teroourse and it 18 our opinion that \ it Is. Xnsofar aa we oan find, OUF Ttxaa oourts hart not pane& rpra$flcally upon the oharaoter~o? ruoh waters, though without the jii&nt b+lng involved, there appear6 to be certain lnpllca- tiono that would tend to exolude them a6 public water6. For ln- stance In the Burkttt m.se, smpbaelr 16 plsotd upon edtflnlte chmntls" as a characteristic of unttergroun@btrtame. And It was 66ld that In the ab6ence of proof to the contrary, undtr- ground uater6 are prrcluaed to be peraolatlng wattrr. The pre- vious dIfflculty tn asctrtalnrent of the physical oharaoter of epecifia underground water h66 led the courts in the abrenoe of 6cIentlflc txactne66, apparently to adopt a rule of ccnvtnltnct ln the abatnct of anythins batter and to refer to all ptrcolatlng water6 without dIstInction a6 part and 'parcel at the land and to further assume that all wnters are percolating waterw unlewa prOYtd OthtZWl6t. we. btllevt the solenoe of hydrology, that la, the study of underground water6 ha6 advanaed In comperatlvtly recent years to a degree of certainty as to warrant 6ome aea6ure of dlwcrlminatlon on the part of the courte, re,-uirlng them to abandon the above decrcrlbed nrePumptIon altocethrr and to dla- tlnguieh the different type6 of percolatlne waters.

ie will here outline tha charaaterletlce pre6tntl.y recngnlted in the two general cl@iWwew of undergrounfi water6 66

Cr. George g’.Cox, Pale 6

reflected by our search of the oaaee an6 then 1Iet and compare with them the oharaoterlrtloe of stratum water, showing l&at the latter more nearly conform to wateroourres and ehould be treated aa suoh.

Xera diffused peroolating waters: (a) they peroolate; (b) ln any and all direotlone by gravity alone; (0) moving alow the line of least rerlstanoe other than In oonfined channels with sides, oelling and bottom.

Under round streams of wateroourses: a) rlow by torce or gravity and by roroe ‘T or an even oonatant waterhead; (b) in a rlngls definite dlreotioq (0) within eonfined li!EitE or ebafinel; (d) in currents. Under Lund rtritum raters: ? they percolate; (b) byf-0~ or gravity and unir0~ head or i I., 0) la a gir~a.~direotioa;~ .' l a) within eonflabd llmlts, botveen Imperviour upper and lowar strata of earth with banke @onfInIng the water betwoen the strata. Ia ooaparieon we see that the stratum water8 bear all of the Uharaoterlstloa of underground wateraourreu exaept that the watere do not flow in ourrents, but by percolation. Aaide rrom a oomparieon of’ physioal oharaoterietios rerleatIng aore sImIlar- :ty with waterooursesthan rtrlotly peroolatlng waters, there are oonsIderatIon6 of public welfare and use whloh Lapel the oonolu- rion that regardlear of where the ownershIp may rest, the Pub110 at large has aoFe need ror the use of large underground reeervoirs of water oontained wIthin strata than even OT Its surface rtreams.

In the oase of HInton vs. Little, et al, the Supreme Court of Idaho In 1931, %?96 Pac. Rep. 662 held that the water from a stratum as desorlbed above was eubject to appropriation and there- fore not subJeot to the rule of private property appertaininp in the onsc of ordinary percolating water. The opinion reads:

‘The oomplalnt alleges . . . that the ter- ritory In question Ie underlaid at a depth of from 200 to ZOO feet, . . ., by subterranean waters oon-

Dr. George W. Cox, page 7

fined horizontallybetween this upper ImpervIoue stratum and lower etratua, art oi euoh a nature to support this subterranean water when artiPiQfa1 optn- lngs art made In the upper stratum to, and In come Inetanote abort the ground. Laterally the subttr- ranean voters art evidently oontinuous and m throughout the basin. . . .I

.The etrength of this oaee ae authority In support of the propotltlon that a stratum of water whIoh Ypermeatte through- out the basin* oonetltuter water eubjeot to appraprlation, ie weakened by the raot that the oourt points out that in Idaho even diffused ptroolating waters without a derlnltt oouree of movement art 8ubJeot to lpproprlatlon. While Texas aourte have declared peroolatlng waters, movIn(r vlthout dtrlnltt dlrtotlon as not subject to approprlatlon, In our opinion they will follow -the lotual deelelon of the Idaho oaee holding that flowing waters perpleating a derined stratum, art eubJeot to appropriation as a "body" or water. Our oouyte would undobtedly take Judlolal know- ledge of the raot that many of our Texas oltlte Inoludlna; its largeet, kurton, take their munlolpal supply of vater from de- lined water strata. 8uoh strata bear a oontlnuoue flow of ail- lions or gallons or wmttr. lotwithetandlngthe elowntee of move- ~~mtnt~Ahevateravallablt~fFomthem le~tremendoue. Wo aamnat be- liers that our courts would hold such waters to sonetItute ptr- oolatlng waters within the 8tnee that tht term 1s ordlnarll~ used, that Ie, dlffuetd peroolation. The natural geologloal oondltione of the oounty have impelled varlout treatments on the part of the oourte of under- ground waters. Western States hare dtolartd mere peroolatlng water6 to be pub110 water6 and not subJeot to prIrate ownership. In them, water 1s of oouree very lo a r a e, and the pub110 ooneldtra- tlon Impelled the courts to declare them to belong to the publlo. Our Supreme Court has already claeeIfIed Texas aa other than an arid State and has declared mere percolating watert to belong to the landowner. Sut In applying the reasoning underlying the deol- elons of both arid and semi-arid states, ye find the public need for rtlianot upon stratum water in Texae Is eo great, a8 to impel1 we belltve, the oourte to deolare it to bear a public interest not subject to private owntrshlc any &ore than our surfaoe or subsur- face etreamns. The designation of public streams ae pub110 was at oomaon law a matter of Juelolal pronouncement; so aloo the P designation of undtreround stream6 as public waters has bttn a

Dr. horge .*. Cox, page 0

matter of Judicial determination as dIetInguIehed from leglsla- tire, While these legal concept8 grew up uader the oommonlaw, as oosqared to othere, their origin Is oomparatlvely reoent. It Is reported that the first cast defining undtrgrolnd raters was handed down in England In 184C. The eolenoe of underground waters bar developed only rtotntly. with IncreaeIng errlalenoy It hae only been within the last fifty years that eolentiets have been able to locate an& determine with rearonable oertalntg the exietanot, the oouree and elxe of undrrground strata8 of watts. At one stage, of the devalcpmtnt, whIoh may In certain etatec yet ptrelst, the oourts deolarcd that only under&round streams that could be traotd irom eurfaue indioatlone would be deolared to be a public stream and not eubJeet to private ownership. he 67 Corpus Jurie. p. 834. Courts at a time when eoitntIrlo methods fo r lmoertainment of the oharaater of underground waters was so meager, sought, In derlning Impcrtant property rights to dtelare them only upon oertaln vIeIble euriaoe indIoatIoae. With the d.ertlopment or 88IentIiIO methods a nlpplloation of the same rtaeonlmg would dinot that underground strata of water be trtatt6 in the eame manner as an&erground etreeme or eurtaoe streams. As reservolre ror bllo use their Importanoe /--- is efta grerter than eurraot ~treame. $ he storage Is permanent and of oapaoltlee rar greeter than the average artlrIci&l ltoroge. We are unable to attribute any reason originally Impelling the ‘: biNMe. to deelowe eurfaoe and eubeurfaoe rtreue tc ba cl,, .publIu oharaottr, that do not presently give weight to the oon~luelon that vhen the Ieeue Is squarely put to our Texas aourte, strata of water ehsuld aleo be declared to be of a publie nature. Em- phaehlng this point we attaoh hereto axaerpte from a written statement on “The Movement of Underground Water* prepared by Mon- orable Walter M. White, fknior fiydrolie hglnetr with the United States ~tolo~Ioal Borveg. This statement ehowe the eImIlarIty of stratum water with etrtame and lmphaelree the great use of euoh waters by the publlo a6 Texas.

Xn answer to your Inquiry, therefore, underground water ooureee and bodies of water, Inoludlng etrata, but not mere ptr- oolatlng waters, are public waters within the purview of Artlole 4444, )itvIeed ~1~11 Etatuttm, 1925. As to whether the partlaular water6 affected by the sewer system of the City of Temple, oonstl- tute a water course or a body of water, art questions of fact WliIOh we cannot answer.

You have asked what recourse the parties whoee wells are timaged will have In the event the waters affected art not

Dr. George H. Cox, page 9

included within the puroleu of Article 4444. If euoh water6 are found to be mere diffused percolating water8 and thereiore eubJect to prlvats ownership it follows that the pub110 would have no property interest in them and the parties would be rele- gated to a private mlt for damages, or injunction for the pre- ventfon of the nulsanoe.

Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENEHAL OF TEXAS

. By (Signed) Hugh Q. aUok Hugh Q. Suck Assistant IiC$:db

APPRWED AIM ee, 1940 P (Signed) Grover Sellers

FIRST h88ISTANT hTTQRNEY (IENERAL

APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE By BNB chabmul

THIS OPItiION C3MSIDEPXD AND APFROVLD IN LIHITF-D CONFERENCE

C

TiiL MOVEYIENT OF‘ UNDEFGROUNJD tiATW 1% TEXAS

YalteYk. White July 23, 1040

Wound water, In its orlgln, movement and ultimate disposal, Is olosely analogous to surfaoe waEe~. The eoume Is the same--

rainfall. All of the water we use In Texas must flrct have falled a8 rain or mow. soae of this water runs off quiokly into the

otreaas, some evaporates, and some seeps into the ground where It rails, A part of the water that eInks Into the ground la returned to the air by evaporation, and a part is oarried back into the air by transpiration through planta, some of whleh are deeply rooted _ Ths remainder may aove downwarduntil It Join6 the water contributedby previous rains In the zone of raturatlon where all

openIngi In the 'robks'areoik~letelyillled 61th water. iWtiielrc! we call the upper surfaoe of the aaturatrd zone the water table.

The water table IP seldom flat, but usually nlopee In the aame general dlreotlon as the taurfaoe of the ground.

Both euriace water and ground water praotloally everywhere are moving from areas 0r intake toward an outlet. The rate of movement of both varkus direotly with the elope of the etream and Indlrsotlp with the reslstanae or trhctlon produoed by the stream bed oP.&raund-water aquifer. Both r+ldom originate on the property of the person or corporation that used the water.

A eurfaot stream Is confined wIthIn a well defined channel, the looatlon of whloh ie clearly apparent. Ground water also moves In reetrlcted channela which altho not 80 apparent can be determined.

The Interrelatlonrhlp between the underground waters and

. etreame 18 a olost one. A large proportion of the water that reaohes the @uli make8 It8 Journey In part on the surfaoa and

In part undarground. All Texas streams that have a fairly con-

stant flow of clear or moderately olear wat&r are fed rrom under-

ground souroes. On the other hand praotlcally all the streams of

the State contribute q,tiantItierof water to the underground sup-

plies In parte of their 6ouroas.

The important water-bearhe rormations of Taxa under118

great araaa. The Carrlro sand for example underlies the greater

part of the Texas Costa1 Plain. Thbs does not mean that the

water In those formations -is peroolatlng almlersly in any or /-- every dlraotlon. On the contrary, It move8 8rtrJwhere In a da-

iIn%t,o,d$raot$on and with a ,da?inItp slope dr gradlurt Micro-

ooraanoe wlth wall known hydraulic laws. The dlreetion and

amount of slope or gradient of a aurfaot atream oan be determined

by’l&relIng and (LO cran the (Ureotlon and amount of alope of an

underground stream. In the oaoe of the surface stream the lartl

traverse 1s run so as to oonnaot points on the surface of the

stream. In the case of the umdtrground straam the levels arc

run so aa to oonneot mtaaurlng points at the eurraoe of a large

number of wells. Then rrom the level data and, from measurementa

to the water level& in the welle a contour map can be oonetruoted

which will, be similar to a topopraphlo map with the difference

that the contours ara drawn on the water table or arttelan eurfaot

Instead of on the surfaaa 02 the ground. From the oontour map the direotlon of the ‘underground movement can be determlned for

It must be at right angle to the contouru juet aa the maximum slope of the land Ir at right angle to the aontourm drawn on the land surface ! The rate of movement of water lo proportional. to the gredlent and the transaleeability of the formatIon The gredlent IE Indicated by the dlatanoe between the aontoura, end the tranrmIesabIlIty of the formation oen be determIned either from laboratory terte of water-bearing materiels, or from pumping t6etr In the field. From the two feotore, gmdlent and trens-

mIe~abIlIt~,the rete of movement of the ground water end the volume of ths underground flow per llne8r rile oan be ooeputad.

dlfferenoesbetween Perbapr the most outcrtandlng ground water 8nd 8urfaoe water I8 In the rate oi flow. In gravel, send or sandstoneground water moves through srall 8p8aos between the 'pdbbles or sand grains. In r&k &oh rls querttlte, granite and

limertonc It MIOVCOalone areokr and orerIcer. fn limestone the water has e tendenoy to dissolve the sides of the crevloee and e&large them into ehannels of oonelderable site eo that In some eaee8 the water may move underground at a rate comparable with surface streams.

The Edward6 limestone Is the prinoipal mcuroe of the huge springs which appear at Intervale along the Beloones Fault zone from the vlolnlty of Del Rio eastward and northeastward to Austin nnd beyond. The saber supply In this foraatlon Ir derived from ralnfall end seepage from atreame on a band outcrop whioh

4 perellels the north side ai the Fault Zone. Whole rivers disappear In crossing this band of outcrop. An estimate baseO largely on etream Raging records Indicates that the~re losses from the Nueaee, Frio, Dry Frio, Bablnal and lledlne rivers may everaEe about 140,000 acre-feet e year, the equivalent of e aontlnuoue flow of 90,000 @lone a minute. Practically all the water reappears In the large sprlnge of the Teult zone which hevc a oomblned flow of more than 800,000,000 gellone 8 day. The average flow of the New Breunfels springs alone Is around %!20,000,000 gallons a day. At Ben Antonio the dlscherge from wella end springs drawing from the llmestone evereges &round 100,000,000 gellone l d’ey . The direction end rate of movement of weter In the llaaatone from are&e of Inteke toward the springs and wells ha6 -baen determined In pertr of the Feult sone and in other parts 18 at111 under etudy.

,,:,.,,,?$e Carrlro an@ le t+e aouro~ of water aapply ‘for 8 .lerge

number of towns and still oltler In Teraa. It her been moat axtenslvely developed in the Winter Garden District southwest of San Antonio in Dimnit, Zavale, Frio end Atasooee Gountiee where more than ?rO,OOO 8cree of win& vegetables, fruits and other crops ere Irrigated from wells in the formation. The hrrevlest drafts on the Cerrlzo are In DImmit and Zavala Counties where about 20,000 &ores are irrigated. Figure 2 shows the outcrop of the Cerrlzo send In a pert of the Winter SerBen erea In &vale end Diamit Counties, Texas, end the erteelen he& In feet above se.9 level. Water enters the send at the outorop end movea down

the dip rt right &ngler to the oontours shown on the map. The erteslen slope IO represented by the dlstanoe between the con- -. tour6 and drop In pressure between them, which Is 25 feet. In

1932, by uelng the srteslan 610pe shown on this map the thlcknese end permesbllity of the sand determined by pumping te8te end laboratorysnrlyses, It w&6 ertlaated thet the tren8mle6Ion ceprcity of the Csrriso ssnd from the outorop to the sree Irrigated

wee 24,000,OOO gallons II day. The roundness of thI6 estlmste has been proved during ths lert eight ye&r6 by the faot thst the aver-

age annual pumpagefrom this 68nd hss been oomprrsble to the estlmsts vlthout o~uolng rlgniifcantohs~rr In the erterien pres6uure6

RI Indicatedby mter lovslr in the well@. In Marsh 1957 there ~86 6 matltlenIaoreere In the pumping near

Pe6edene mounting to about ~O,OOO,OOO g&llons R d+y. F'urtherin- oroeae6 hate been ud8 rlnos that tire and the total puapage In the ~,'Hosiitbbn-Pis*dei.a-Keti P&de fI4&~d~~~r~ct~ now uounte to between 90,000,000 end 96,000,000 gallons 8 dry, or ab-ut 46 per cent

greater than’lt W&B in 1936. A6 R reru3.t there her been I severe decline in the srteelan prercures which hsn meterlally lowered the water levele ln 811 the vella of theee dlstrlots and has extended

out In every direction tram them for 20 mllee or more. The decline

Is contlnufng. From the eerly rprlng of 1859 to oorreepondlng period In 1940 the average net deollne in privately owned well6 et iioueton smounted to about six feet and the net decline In the City owned well6 wee even greater. In the Kety. rice flelde there was an saverwe net decline durlne: the year oi about 2) reet.