The Florence daily tribune., 1901-03-08
THE STORAGE OF WATER

the point where the problem OF
the storage of water has become of
immediate and pressing impor-
lance. Hardly a locality can be
found that is not more or less in
directly interested in the question,
for even if it is not in an agricul-
tural region, or even if it is upon
streams where there is an apparent
abundance of water. it is, in the one
case, it may be through the cost of
agricultural products or through
the necessity for the conservation
of water for the development of
power, indirectly interested, and
in the other case it is more than
probable that it will not be many
years before the normal flow will
be entirely used for direct irriga-
ton, SO that it is only good bust
ness policy to be looking out for
the future needs of the communi-
ty. For example, we say that
there is an abundance of water in
the Gunnison; but all are con-
vinced, even granting that there
are one thousand or more cubic
feet per second in the river, that
it will, relatively speaking, not be
very many years before all of this
water will be needed for the irri-
CATION of the lands of the mesas
along it's course and for the fertile
plains of the Uncompahgre valley.
Moreover, many of the tributaries
of the Gunnison were already
short of water during a considera-
BILE portion of every irrigation sea-
son. The same may be said of
the Grand, of the White and of
the Yampa. 1t will not be 80 very
many years in any of these cases
before more than the normal flow
will be required for direct irrlga-
ton, and upon them all many of
the tributaries are already INSULT
ciently supplied and storage is
practiced to greater or less ex-
tent, and will be made use of more
and more as time goes on.
Some of the streams OF the state,
even where there .is but little irri-
cation, furnish an insufficient sup
ply for the development of the
power required, and water rights
for power purposes are more in de-
mand. Such is the case on the
San Miguel river, and other
streams of the western part of the
state.
But in spite of the self-evidence
of the proposition that every in
dividual in the state is interested
in the conservation of our water
supply to its greatest possible ex-
tent, there is woeful apathy to
the wholesale destruction of our
forests, which are, after all, our
best regulators of flow, fact easy
of demonstration. Communities
seem to take pride in denuding, as
rapidly as possible, our forest areas,
even those that are highest up on
the streams where the timber is
most needed, And this, too, with
out reference to the reforestation.
but apparently with the intention
of clearing the land in such a way
that trees shall never grow there
again. Large and small trees are
cut indiscriminately, and the
branches are left lying about in
such way as to invite forest fires,
and thus destroy even the under
growth.
Furthermore, there seems to be
the utmost Indifference to forest
fires and their results. When, not
only communities, but individuals,
realize that each and every person
is interested in the prevention of
the wanton destruction of forests,
that it means loss of dollars to his
pocket and worry to his life, if tire
timber is ruthlessiy destroyed, then
there will be more convictions for