The Ordway new era., 1910-05-13
COLT PROJECT REPORT
Favora6iy Passed Upon BY James D.
Schuyler an Expert hydraulic
Engineer of California

Mr.. w. A. Colt and signed by James
d. Scuyler, consulting hydraulic en-
gineer, Los Angeles, California, eX-
plains itself. 1t Is evident that Mr..
Scuyler gives the Colt project his un-
qualified support. Some month pre-
vious he made detailed report favor
ing the enterprise. and upon his re-
cent visit to the valley has given the
same further endorsement.
AS he recommends that the Ditch
Association OF the valley affilliate it.
self with Mr.. Colt and assist In the
construction of the intake canal and
In acquiring Lake Meredith, and in
asmuch as such matter OF consOlida-
tion is of vital Importance to the var.
ious communities of the valley, we
would like to see this article have wide
publicity, aud trust the valley papers
will boost 1t along:
Rocky Ford, Colorado, March II,
1910. Mr.. w. A. Colt, Las Animas.
Colorado. Dear SIR
The examination which l made
last fall into the merits OF the great
flood. water canal and reservoir pro-
ject which you haye undertaken. to
carry out interested me intensely at
the time, and am glad to have the
opportunity OF studying It's remark
ably favorable conditions, and pleased
that could report In its favor. On
my recent return to the valley ut the
invitation of the Fort Lyon Canal
company, have renewed my famili.
arity with the irrigation situation,
and have become impressed Us never
before with the commanding import
ance of the Lake Meredith reservoir
and It's ability to serve the interests
Of the entire valley In way which no
other possible or existing reservoir on
the river, or in the watershed, can
approximate. In fact the project now
appears so large to me and too neces-
sary to the entire valley to be In the
hands or control OF one individual or
corporation; and it seems to me f0rtu-
nate for the public welfare that you
have not yet succeeded In financing
it for partial development and thus
restricted its use and service to one
small locality.
The fact Is there Is no situation on
the river where it Is possible to build
a ditch large enough to divert the en-
tire volume OF your average floods in
seventeen miles OF distance to a reser-
- "a -
this. The Fort Lyon Storage Canal
is 43 miles long and crosses two large
streams; the feeder OF the Great
Plains reservoir system is II miles In
length and has many natural obsta-
cles. The Colt canal location crosses
no streams, Is almost absolutely
straight, is free from all obstacles
which would interfere with move
ment of ice In winter, and moreover
it has an exceptionally line headworks
location, where the river has not
changed in the past forty years, and
cannot change its channel.
II all the principal canals OF the
valley were to unite In constructing
this canal and reservoir they could all
bc largely benefited as it would serve
as an equalizer of these tremendous
floods which now escape all possible
capture. and do nothing useful, but
on the contrary create havoc and de-
struction to canals. headgates, bridges
and fields. With these floods held
temporarily in the great reservoir Of
nearly 400, 900 acre feet capacity. all
the reservoirs now depending on
feeder canals from tue river OF modest
size could be Tiled from Meredith
Lake at a uniform rate after the
foods had subsidized, leaving the reser-
voir partially or wholly empty, ready
to receive the next floods.
Viewing the matter from this
standpoint l feel like advising the
Canal Association of the Valley to
take immediate steps to combine and
acquire and build your main canal
and reservoir.
This will be the most important
means of defense from the encroacll.
ment Of various other extensive pro-
jects now under way which bid fair
to absorb all the upper waters of the
Arkansas and It's largest tributaries.
Very sincerely yours,
JAMES d. SCHUYLER.
From Bent County Democrat.