The La Jara chronicle., 1911-08-04
IRRIGATION BY
ELECTRIC POWER

The pumping of underflow and
seepage water from wells for ir-
rigation purposes throughout the
northern part of the state OF Col
orado and southern Wyoming
has been carried on with increas-
ing popularity during the past
eighteen months.
The Northern Colorado Power
company has large steam n .eor
plant of $4,000 horse power ca
pacity located in the center of
the northern coal fields. twenty
niles from Denver. from Which
several hundred miles of trans
mission and distributing lines are
carried throughout splendid
agricultural country.
The pumping is very largely
done by individual farmers who
have installed motor driven cen
trifugal pumps operated by cleo
tric motors, which supply water
from wells, averaging in depth
from fifteen to twenty-five feet
and for tracts of land varying
from eighty to six. hundred and
forty acres from a single well.
There is a pronounced underflow
underlying the entire northern
part of the state, east of the
mountains, stretching out from
the foothills towards the plains,
and twenty feet is the average
depth of which water is found
in dependable quantities.
The first year S efforts to Sc
cure the adoption of electric drive
for irrigation work was purely a
matter of education, as the av
eragc farmer looked upon the
use of electric current as some
thing suitable for the manufactu,-
ing industries in the city, but had
not considered its use in the
light OF Il possible advantage for
use upon the farm.
Practically one hundred plants
are now in operation on the
Northern company's lines, irrigat-
ing about sixteen thousand acres
of land, most of which lying above
the ditch was formerly considered
Of very little value as agricultural
land and was purchased at prices
ranging about twenty dollars
per acre, but by the installation
of the pumping plants has been
increased in value to two hundred
dollars to two hundred and fifty
dollars per acre.
The farmers making use of mo-
tor driven pumps are very en-
thusiastic regarding the results
which they receive and next to
the low cost which they exper-
icnce in carrying on the irri-
cation work by this means the
tremendous advantage which they
claim to be secured by being
able to irrigate on the very
days and hours which they deem
best, and with just the proper
amount of water, is of the great
est value to them.
Other than pumping from wells,
use is made of pumping water
from bitches, streams and reser-
ervoirs to land above the ditch,
and many land owners who con-
troll water rights have found it
advantageous to dispose of
their ditch right to other par
ties and pump the underflow at a
profit to themselves.
A considerable number of
plants have been installed where
pumping has been done from
marsh or swamp lands. Here
the work has been found to be
doubly advantageous by drain
ing the lowlands and reclaiming
the swamps, which were of no
value previously, and by raising
the water to the table lands
above, effecting a double service
by one pumping.
On the system used by the
Northern Colorado Power com
pany the electric current leaves
the power house at a pressure
of $4,000 volts and is carried to
numerous sub.stations located in
the towns throughout the terri