, 1902-03-13
NEEDED
THEIR VALUE BEING RECOGNIZED
Facts and Figures in Regard to Many
Now in Use in Colorado.

~
The office of irrigation Investigations
of the department OF agriculture mas
been engaged during the past year III
the collection of statistics concerning
the number of reservoirs in use in the
country for the purposes of irrigation,
the amount of money expended in con-
| structiou and the benefits derived.
Wherever there are favorable natur-
nj opportunities the trainers under
bitches are building dams and storing
for use when streams are low. AS n
result of this the area cultivated Is
being increased and II Is made possible
to grow more diversified II valuable
crops.
In one valley in Colorado there are
twenty-seven of these reservoirs and in
mother thirty-fOur. In II of these
valleys the reservoirs hold enough
water to cover all the land irrigated
to a depth of four inches, in the other
to n depth of six inches, and furnish
two-thirds of the water supply for tht
last half of the year.
OF these the Cache In POudre has an
area of 600 acres and holds 5000 acre
feet. 1t is owned by farmers and helps
to irrigate 10000 acres of land. 1t
cost to build S105. 900 and it is now
| NOTIn S[bD.Vpbs Inc uIOulh III iI'i
was so severe that all of the crops
under this reservoir would have been
IL failure without it and it is estimated
that it saved the farmers of the valley
over 5000 600, or five times its original
cost.
The Windsor reservoir has a surface
area of 700 acres and a capacity of 49,
ia acre-feet. Its first cost was about
$500 and II is now valued at $780,
900.
The Tom Wood reservoir furnishes
water for o acres. 1t cost originally
$1,000, and 1t now furnishes $1,000 of
water to irrigators each year.
Lake Loveland is the largest reser-
voir in these two valleys. 1t cost S125,-
COO. Its ownership is divided into 300
shares, which are worth $1,000 each,
making the value of the reservoir more
than twice its original cost.
The largest reservoir in Colorado is
at Twin lakes, on the ArkansSS. 1t
has a surface area of about 2,60O acres
and a capacity of 69.O66 acre-feet. The
value of this reservoir to the farmers
along the Arkansas river is greatly
Increased because this has proven
one of the most favored regions for
growing sugar beets. Without late
water supply their production would be
impossible, but with this reservoir to
draw on farmers are assured of an
adequate supply for the entire season
and this has led to the building of
additional sugar factories and a great
increase in this industry.
Another important reservoir on the
Arkansas river is the Eoen, situated
near Great Bend, Kansas. This reser-
voir is now in curse of construction.
When completed it will have an area of
over sixty miles and will hold when full
496,SI5 acre-feet of water, enough to
cover 10000 acres to Il depth of two
feet. 1t is planned to fill it from the
food waters of the Arkansas river,
which will require n nail canal thir-
teen and one-half miles long. The land
which can be irrigated from this cser-
yoir lies in three counties and has
an area of between 100000 and 3O0,-
900 acres. 1t is believed that the CON
struction of these two reservoirs will
do much to relieve the friction which
has existed between the states of Kan
sas and Colorado over the division of
water on the Arkansas river. as it will
make ii possible to utilize much of the
flow which formerly ran to waste.
a reservoir at Wheatland. Wyoming,
which cost 100000 to construct, served
TO irrigate 1850 acres of land in 1901,
on which the crops grown We're worth
$780, This reservoir holds 2,1vJ
acre-feet. Without ii the crops would
have been n complete failure; hence,
the value per acre-feet for last season
was about ST..