The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1908-02-22
DITCH MERGER PLANNED.
Owners Of Northern Colorado Reser-
voirs in Conference.

Fort Collius-An important meeting
of the owners Of number OF the great
storage reservoirs OF Northern Colo
rado was held here Monday. 10 con
slider the merging of their several
properties into one giant company,
with a capitalization equal 10 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 $3.50. 900 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 recoS-
1 NlZtu dS tue gateway 10 an llliHtH9F
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
I Union Pacific-land that with an ade-
/ 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.
1 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 1000 cubic feet IA 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 limited sup
ply of water constructs storage reser-
vor 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 own
| 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 emptied into the
river at 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
| red to such an extent that some of the
| oldest bitches on the river seldom re-
ceive 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 Dltcn q Reservoir Company s
ditch and reservoirs, the reservoirs of
the North Poudre Irrigation Company
Nos. $. 6, and 8; Fossil Creek an
mex: Boyd lake and some minor prop
critics. Attending the conference and
| participating in it's deliberations were:
b. ID. Sanborn, S. H. Southard and
Jesse Wyatt, Greeley; Christopher
Montgomery. Eaton: Horace G. Clark
Denver: F. n. Scott, NJ. ]. Fitzpatrick
F. S. Weldelken, w. F. Waddle, ]. l..
Purdy and c. NJ. Leggett, Fort Collins.
| Preliminary committees were ap-
pointed and an adjournment taken to
February 9th.