Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-03-16

Ditch companies In Colorado hnVe
made II good thing out of the control
OF the water rights, which have gone
up to prices thar might strike the unin-
formed rs bordering on the fancy.
Thirty-fve dollars per acre is the mar
kct price of water rights under the High
Line ditch. The company has none for
sale, hut the prospective purchaser
must look up n right, IL he gets one
among private holders. In addition TO
this there is fee of $40 to the company
und an annual water rent of Sl,oo per
acre. This statement shows the value
of the irrigating ditch to both owners
and users.
In some parts of the state bitches
are impracticable, and other places the
small property owners are trying 10
secure their own water without buying
from ditch company. This Is leading
rapidly TO artesian wells. In the past
the state has made several expert
inents with arteslan wells, but has
never secured any satisfactory results.
AS is usually the case, however. the
private investor has obtained much
better results than the public investignt-
or. In one section of the state. at least,
the artesian well has proved an I'M
qualified success.
Down in Otero county there are now
n number of flowing wells. Natures.
thr0es are in ample evidence there In
the folds of the Dakota group. which
has been tossed about during the pro-
cess of contipent-making. in n way
most wonderful to the geologist. Be-
tween the strata of limestone and sand
stone there are ample bodies of sand
and shale. and in these water abounds.
1t comes down from the mountains and
finds in the sand held between the folds
nf I,n Nyut.tiaI NJ tyTisfpI rock natural
reservoirs. where II waits the uses of
the husbandman. and he Is beginning
to use II.
Senator Swink of Rocky Ford. has
gathered some information for the use
of n brother senator. and this lie gives
TO the Times. Well No. l was bored
near the railroad station NJ Rocky Ford.
II is 100 feet deep and flows forty gal
Ions 10 the minute. The formation
pierced Is as follows: Surface. consist
ing of soil. sand and gravel forty feet:
gray shalc. 220 feet: limestone. forty
feet: black shnlc, 400 feet; sandstone.
nlncty-two feet.
Well No. Is one mile southeast OF
No. 1. 1t Is on ground twenty feet high
or than No. I. hut pierced the water
bearing sand at IGI feet. and has flow
of 1i0 gallons per minute.
No. 3 IL fifty feet higher than No. l.
three quarters OF u mile south. II IL $50
feet deep and has flow OF thirty eight
gallons to the minute. No. ! Is ninety
six feet higher than No. / and Is locnt-
ed threc-puartcrs OF mile south by
southeast from IL. \ flow OF seventeen
gallons per minute was obtained at n
depth OF $50 feet. Well No. 1 was pui
down 1,oSO feet to the second sand. II
was II failure. the flow being but one
gallon pcr minute. Well No. =. Il mile
and half west OF No. l. has flow
OF 112 gallons per minute from n depth
OF Si5 feet.
The boring OF these wells has cost
about $3.50 per foot to complete. About
forty feet OF tcn-inch casing is used.
through the surface formation. and the
rest OF the way the hole IL dry. The
diameter of the bore below the casing
Is usually about eight inches. \ four
inch Calomine iron pipe Is put down.
and there l. nothing more to do but
take care OF the water. Sufficient head
IL had to raise the water in n pipe about
100 feet above the mouth OF the bore.
hut 1t reduces the volume of the flow
about one-halr. At the surface the
water has temperature OF about sew
cnty-cight degrees.
At AianZanola. ten miles west OF
Rocky Ford. end seventy feet higher. n
well lilo feet deep has n flow of eighty
gallons. In this well the water-bcarl:ig
sand was struck ut 1.0.3 feet.
At Ordway. fourteen miles northwest
from Rocky Ford. salt water wis en-
countcrcd In the gray slalc nt $50 feet.
Limestone was encountered at 1000
feet. and watcr-bcarinr sand nj 1.4G0.
The sand stratum l.; $50 feet thick. In
this well the water came to within nine
ty-two feet of the surface. II was
pushed through the second sand. but no
flow was established. 1t pumps about
100 gallons per minute.
At La Junta. ten miles east Of Rocky
Ford, there are nine flowing wells. Six
of these are In the first sand. with an
average depth of $50 feet and n flow OF
ten gallons to the minute. Three are in
the second sand and have an cvcragc
flow OF about forty gallons. AT Tim
pos. seventeen miles south. there are
two wells. one 53s and one Io3 feet,
with nm average flow of forty gallons.
At Trinidad u well was driven for oil.
At 2.5S5 feet water was struck. AT
2.595 4, came to within 400 feet of the
surface and boring was stopped. No
limestone was struck in this WE'LL
Denver Times.