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Generce &

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

To the Kansas State Board of Agriculture:

I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the work and finances of the Division of Irrigation from the time of my assuming the duties of my office, on June 16, 1919, to June 30, 1920, with recommendations relating to irrigation activities.

Very respectfully,

GEO. S. KNAPP, State Irrigation Commissioner.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER.

CHAPTER I.

WORK AND FINANCES OF THE DEPARTMENT.

DISCUSSION OF NEW IRRIGATION LAW.

The twenty-first biennial session of the legislature, in 1919, repealed the acts of 1915 and 1917 which provided for the construction of irrigation pumping plants in counties west of the 100th meridian for experimental and demonstrational purposes. In the place of these acts it created a Division of Irrigation in the State Board of Agriculture, to be under the control of an irrigation commissioner appointed by the Board of Agriculture. The duties of the irrigation commissioner, as set forth in the law, are:

"(1) To gather data, information and statistics from the existing irrigation plants in the state concerning the water supply and methods of securing the same and the methods employed in applying water to crops, and he shall tabulate and preserve in available form such information and shall publish and distribute the same from time to time; (2) to visit the site of any proposed irrigation plant in the state, upon the request of any citizen of the state, and advise as to the feasibility of installing such plant, and furnish plans and specifications therefor upon request, such visits to be made only when his actual expenses therefor are guaranteed by the person requesting such visit; (3) to operate by lease, under competitive bids, all existing irrigation plants now owned by the state of Kansas and installed by the Board of Irrigation, Survey, Experiment and Demonstration, or the state irrigation commissioner, until such time as he shall have determined the feasibility of irrigation under conditions existing at each of such plants, and all proceeds from the operation of any such plants shall be paid into and become a part of the funds herein provided, for the payment of the expenses of conducting such department; (4) to immediately take charge of all property of every kind and nature now belonging to the state of Kansas and heretofore purchased or otherwise acquired by the Board of Irrigation, Survey, Experiment and Demonstration, and the state irrigation commissioner, and shall have authority to sell and dispose of any such property, not including real estate and not necessary for carrying out the work of such department; (5) to make quarterly reports to the State Board of Agriculture, including itemized accounts of all receipts and expenditures of such department."

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The passage of this act marked a change on the part of the state in its efforts to develop the water resources of Kansas for purposes of irrigation. By this action it discontinued the construction of irrigation pumping plants for purposes of experiment and demonstration. This was prompted, no doubt, by the fact that such plants have proven very expensive and have been productive of but little information regarding either the water resources of the state or the feasibility of pumping for irrigation. Usually these plants have been installed in localities where

the depth to water was great and where the possibilities of securing water were remote, and at these locations neither the density of the population nor general economic conditions were such that any extensive irrigation development could be expected. Instead of limiting itself in its scope to what information it might obtain from these plants, which necessarily were few in number and often unfavorably located, the state has undertaken to work out its irrigation problems and development on broader lines by gathering information from the hundreds of irrigation plants already in operation in various parts of the state, publishing this information for the benefit of those interested in irrigation, and rendering sufficient assistance to those contemplating the installation of a plant, so that failures and unsatisfactory installations, which have been common, especially in new localities, are unnecessary. Properly administered, this law should do more to promote the development of irrigation enterprises than previous legislation has done.

The irrigation commissioner was appointed on May 29, 1919, and assumed the duties of his office on June 15.

APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES.

To carry on the work of the department the following sums were appropriated:

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921.

$2,000

10,500

10,500

These appropriations were made in a lump sum for the expenses of the department, but besides fixing the salary of the commissioner at $3,000 per annum, the law limited him to the expenditure of $2,000 per annum for clerical help, and authorized him to use a sum not exceeding $2,500 per year for expenses incurred in cases against the Colorado ditches to prevent the diversion of water from the Arkansas river.

The expenditures made during fiscal years ending June 30, 1919 and 1920, respectively, are:

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When the above-mentioned acts of 1915 and 1917 were repealed the funds available for that work reverted to the general-revenue fund. The irrigation commissioner, under whose administration the work authorized by these acts was done, failed to complete the business of his department before such funds were no longer available. Various small bills had not been paid and a number of accounts due the state from the sale of seed, water, etc., had not been collected. Through the efforts of this department the 1920 special session of the legislature passed a bill which made funds available and authorized the present commissioner to pay such

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