The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1908-02-21
DITCH MERGER PLANNED.
Owners Of Northern Colorado Reser.
voirs in Conference.


Fort Collins.-An important meeting
of the owners of a number of the great
storage reservoirs of Northern Colo
RADIO was held here Monday, 10 con
slider the merging of their several
properties into one giant company.
with a capitalization equal to their
combined value. Briefly stated the
situation is as follows:
The Poudre Valley Reservoir Com
pany owns the ditch of that name,
whose headgate and intake is located
on the north side of the Poudre river
above La Porte. and occupies the
strategic position OF being the high
est up" of any ditch on the river. An
extension of this ditch from its pres
ent terminus would cover an immense
area north of Ault and above the Lar
inner county ditch. which, until the
construction of the Poudre Valley, en-
joyed the distinction of being the
highest up" ditch on the Poudre.
About $G50,00O has been expended
on the Poudre Valley ditch and its
reservoir. Lake Douglas, at its present
terminus, in its construction by the
owners, the farmers of Larimer and
Weld counties. This ditch is recOg.
niZed as the gateway" to an immense
body of as rich land as can be found
in the world. estimated at 10000
acres and upward, lying, as stated.
above Ault and on both sides of the
Union Pacific-land that with an ad"-
quate water supply would be worth
just as much as the valuable land in
the vicinity of Eaton and Ault, or 500
an acre and upwards.
But the owners of the Poudre Valley
ditch and reservoir system have not
enough water of their own to supply
the new empire, nor have they the
capital to extend their great ditch.
whose carrying capacity at the head
Is 900 cubic feet Il second.
On the other hand, reservoir con
struction in northern Colorado has
been pushed to such an extent that
there is at present an actual surplus
of stored water in many of the storage
reservoirs in that section yearly, water
not needed by the older and estab-
lished ditch systems. To find profit
able market for this surplus water and
provide the necessary capital to COM
plete the great Poudre Valley ditch by
means of merger, is the problem the
owners of the various properties have
undertaken to solve.
They have an exchange system in
this section difficult for any but expert
irrigationists to understand. but to
give something of an idea of the way
it is managed. it may be stated thus:
A ditch company with a limited sup
nj, IF TO, vf0
voir which it can fill, but the water
from which it cannot use direct, be-
caust the reservoir is below the ditch.
But another ditch, below the reser-
voir. can use it, so trade is made.
the ditch that draws the water out of
the reservoir permitting the ditch OWL
ing the same and filling it to use the
river water of the ditch that draws the
reservoir water. Or, the water from
the reservoir may be empted into the
river q: a point lower down, and for
every foot turned into the river the
ditch company making the delivery
will be permitted to divert the same
quantity at its intake at point higher
up.
This exchange system has been car
ried to such an extent that some of the
oldest bitches on the river seldom re-
ceivc their river water, but in lieu
thereof the stored water of junior
bitches with late appropriations.
The properties represented at the
conference today were: The Poudre
Valley Ditch & Reservoir Company's
ditch and reservoirs the reservoirs of
the North Poudre Irrigation Company.
Nos. 5, 6. Z and 9: Fossil Creek an
mex; Boyd lake and some minor prop
critics. Attending the conference and
participating in its deliberations were:
B. D. Sanborn. s. H. Southard and
Jesse Wyatt, Greeley; Christopher
Montgomery. Eaton; Horace G. Clark,
Denver: F. n. Scott. NJ. J. Fitzpatrick,
F. S. Weldelken. w. F. Waddle, J. L.
Purdy and c. NJ. Leggett, Fort Collins.
Preliminary committees were ap-
pointed and an adjournment taken to
February 9th.