The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-01

/ water for irrigation are strfkingIy brought
d! out in Bulletin No. g, Office OF Expert
ment Station, Irrigation Investigations.
soon to be issued by the Department OF
Agriculture. entitled The Reservoir Sys-
TEN Of the Cache la Poudre Valley It
was prepared by Z. s. Nettletoa. under
the supervision Of Elwood Mead. expert in
ch-rge Of irrigation Investigations This
bulletin describes the Cache la Poudre
Valley; traces the history Of its develop
mrnt: dis uses the water supply and
methods OF irrigation practiced; describes
n detail the various storage reservoirs
which have been constructed in the val
/ ley. ana points out lessons taught by ex-
pecieGce there.
The average flow OF the Cache Ia Pou-
/ Dire River for the month Of July for fifteen
years has been $40 cubic feet per second.
Iao duty Of water assumed in water-rigat
contracts IN this section is so acres 20 / "A
cubic feet per second or 55 acres D-r en-
: bic tJoI per second On this basis the ay-
erage Hon for July VIII irrigate &c 200
acres The Investigations Of the duty Of
water. made last year under the direction
Of the Office Of Experiment Stations. show
nat II the localities having the same gen
eTsl conditions as this valley. the avera-a
--ESA u water applied 10 the land ITTt-
g&LGt Is about 80 feet. that is the va
, cer entering the mead gates of the canal
( where measurements were made. would
! cover the area irrigated under these ca
/ nails to that depth providing il all reached
! the land Assuming that the length OF the
I irrigation season in the Cache Ia POudrs
/ valley IS four months. and that the aver
I age flow OF the river FOR July is the aver
/ age fer the four months. the natural flow
{ OF the stream would cover TO that denrh
/ 5z-Sz5 acres. But the area actually irri-
! gated D canals from this stream is az
! least 10000 acres. The profitable culti-
/ walton Of this area is made possible large
/ " by the system OF reservoirs and the ex-
/ change Of water which has been developed
{ in this valley
Ten years only have been required to
build Up the most complete system Of
Storage IN The United States This mas
not been accomplished by a large eZpend-
. iJuTe Of money. nor because of unusually
/ favorable locations for reservoirs nor
! was il wholly by accident that the people
! Of this valley took up this line Of irriga-
! ton Development. conditions forced them
! into it. They did not wait for the Gen
! era4 Government OF the State to build res
! erVCITs tcr them nor did they wait for
( the people Of some other locality TO dem
/ onSJTate their practicabiIity and financial
. success While this system is by no
means completed. the owners have al
ready reaped much larger rewards for
( their labcrs than they expected. reaching
into the millions Of dollars
Although the necessity for storage res
erFoirs and their utility and benefits are
generally recognized. but few people out
side Of northern Colorado are aware of
what has been accomplished in that local
lJy By the utilization OF small things or OF
: the Ingenuity displayed N making the
. mn =
net only IN Colorado. but in nearly every
cEe Of the arid States. where the work
OF these people can be followed with ben
eECIaI results"
Inc report contains table which gives
: the value of the crop due to the stored
water n the Cache la Poudre Valley dur
/ ing The years 1897 TO 1900. inclusive, as
%"-V'@. ys@- Discussing this subject, the
report says
The cost OF the reservoirs has been
I gwen as 1914. 500 The figures in the table
snow then for four years an annual profit
! Of % Der cent. This however. is not
I Ialr statement of the case II there we're
! no reservoirs the land would not have
been planted TO potatoes. and would TrOb-
tbIy nave produced good crop Of grain
I or tTo crops OF alfalfa as these can al
. most always be matured with the natural
how Of the river What should be con-
SIdered- in estimating the value Of reser-
F0lT water is the difference between the
value Of the crops which could have been
raised without it. This from the nature
Of the case cannot be definitely estimated
The Yearbook Of the United States De-
partnent OF Agriculture for 1889 gave the
/ average return per acre for potatoes IN
. Colorado as $46 20. and the average for
wheat Sl351 This would show an in
creased value Of 1926 per acre. The ex-
Dense OF harvesting potatoes is consider
ably greater than FOR harvesting grain;
50 that this is not 4 net gain. But there
is no question that potatoes are the more
profitable crop. and there is no question
among reservoir stockholders about this
increase being sufficient to make the res
eryoir paying Investment However. ex-
act figures in the matter are impossible
AS has been stated before the use Of
reservoirs makes sure Of third crop OF
alfalfa. which would be seldom obtained
without them No estimates have been
made OF the value OF this third crop OF
alfalfa This crop is not usually market
ed but is fed 10 sheep at home. Il is es-
tlrlated that about 100000 head viii be fed
in the Cache Ia Poudre Valley during the
season Of 1g00-I9g1- This means that geo
GOG tons Of alfalfa viii be required aD-
Fortunately the yield Of $4,000 acres Of
land Probably one-Iourth to one-fifJh Of
this alfalfa is raised with late water.
But the value Of these reservoirs to the
agricultural interests of the valley cannot
De measured By the money returns from
the CROPS matured by the use Of stored
water. L has been shown that the use OF
the reservoirs has been greatly extended /
BY the system Of exchange. It has done
away with the necessity Of building long
outlet canals for utilizing stored water.
and has probably led to the improvement J
o. sites which would still be unused but /
for this method OF disD0sing Of water But /
It has had q far better result. It has +
shown the farmers and canal companies .
the fallacy Of the cItthroat policy which !
they have followed for years. and has be /
gotten a spirit Of cooperation which. II F.
carried over into the management Of their /
canals. viii increase the efficiency OF their /
water supply far more than has been done T!
thus far by the storage OF water which ran (
to waste during the winter and food period. I
To do this would require a partial waving /
Of the rights 10 divert the quantity CF wa /
ter dscreed them under any and all c0udi- /
lions heretofore asserted by most apprO- /
pria-OrS- This would result in injury to :
no oEe II properly carried out; on the 9th /
ct hand. fl would be a benefit to a large /
majority Of the water users In the valley. /
Experience has proved that rotating in /
the use of water from canals results in q /
great saving, both Of time and Of water !
Every practical irrigat0r realizes the ad- |
vantage Of having q large head of water !
for a short time rather han small head /
for long time Much more can be ac-
complisIeG with ten cubic feet per sec !
Ond for one 5av than one cubic foot per |
second for ten days No sane man would /