The Greeley tribune., 1908-05-14
TEN MILLIONS |PENITENTES|
TO BE SPENT WITHIN THE
NEXT FIVE YEARS
Irrigation Enterprises Now under
Way in Northern Colorado
Call for that Enormous
Sum of Money

Probably not less than $1O,O0O,O 900
will be spent in irrigation within the
next five years in the country lying
between Denver on the south and the
| Wyoming border on the north. There
are enough feasible enterprises now
under way to call for an expenditure
of that amount and to fully double the
present irrigated area. Turn which
ever way you will, and Greeley will
be found to be the center of this re-
claiming activity, as 1t lies just mid
way between the two points men
toned The prairie will be rolled
back eastward from Greeley to any
where from fifteen to twenty miles,
where this has not already been done.
In general way the eastern boun-
dairy of this new irrigated district will
be the Box Elder and Grow creek
valleys. There may even be some
small districts formed on the prairies,
beyond this wherever good reservoir
sites, with sufficient water sheds back
of these may be found, to make irri-
CATION by this method practicable.
! All this may sound visionary, but
it is not, because half of the capital
representing the above amount quoted,
has already been secured, and enough
other enterprises are practically as
sured to bring the total amount up to
ten million dollars.
To begin with there is the Denver
Reservoir Irrigation company which
has already secured and commenced
the expenditure Of nearly $5,O00,000
4 to reclaim arid land in northern
Aadams and southern Weld counties
Their system of bitches will cover
some country as far east as the Box
Elder valley. A large part of the re.
mainder of the land in that section
will be reclaimed by the Henrylyn Ir-
rigation district which has just ar
ranged to secure water from what is
known as the Inter-mountain Water
company. To still augment the sup
ply of that section, or else nearer
Denver, is the Antero and Lost Park
reservoir project that is also we'll un-
der way. A little body of land lying
farther north will in the next year
or so be watered from an extension
of either the Platte valley ditch or
the Union ditch.
North and east of the present irri-
gated section of the Poudre and Platte
Poudre Valley Reservoir company, and
the Laramie Poudre company are de-
veloping. A great deal of work has
already been done on both OF these
enterprises, which will eventually be
consolidated to water anywhere from
100000 to 100000 acres, extending
even beyond the Grow creek country.
Still another enterprise to tap the
Larimie river and bring its waters TO
this side of the range is being pro-
NOTED. Some small streams in the
neighborhood of Grover are being
turned to practical use, as in the case
of Willow creek, where fine little
reservoir and ditch system has jus,
been completed, and viii create IA
beautiful little oasis on the prairie.
This will shortly be connected up
With the main body of the irrigated
belt.
Narrowing down somewhat, but
s:,ll of big proportions the Platte val
| 'cv. almost to the Nebraska. line Is
being developed by numerous big re
seryoir enterprises, that are already
a reality, and are not included in the
estimate of expenditures in the district
first mentioned.
What may be invested in new rail-
ways, power schemes and manufac'
turjng in the same district in the next
f.. years Is problem ltical, but the
figures will undoubtedly be large.
The county commissioners last
Friday went up In the Pierce and
olive Branch countries to see
wheather or not the population in
those two places would justify the
LAYING out Of two more voting pre-
cincts, The two places have petit
ioned for separate voting precincts
from anything now In existence, and
,nasmuch as 1T costs about $40 extra
for every voting precinct to hold an
electi Ion, the commissioners wanted
to know.