IRRIGATION

The operation of watering lands for agricultural purposes by artificial means. Irrigation company. A private corporation, authorized and regulated by statute in several states, having for its object to acquire exclusive rights to the water of certain streams or other sources of supply, and to convey, it by means of ditches or canals through a region where it can be beneficially used for agricultural purposes, and either dividing the water among stockholders, or making contracts with consumers, or furnishing a supply to all who apply at fixed rates. Irrigation district. A public and quasi-municipal corporation authorized by law in several states, comprising a defined region or area of land which is susceptible of one mode of irrigation from a common source and by the same system of works. These districts are created by proceedings in the nature of an election under the supervision of a court, and are authorized to purchase or condemn the lands and waters necessary for the system of Irrigation proposed and to construct necessary canals and other works, and the water is apportioned ratably among the land-owners of the district.