The La Jara chronicle., 1911-05-19

| IL you Will Take government
township map and count the
townships of the San Luis Valley,
which lie west of San Luis Creek,
the San Luis Lakes, the Aguilars
and the Rio Grande river, below
the mouth of the Trinchera, in
other words, those townships hav-
ing an easterly, slope, you will
find that you have about forty
three townships of level land,
suitable for cultivation, or a to-
tai of one million one hundred
and thirteen = thousand acres,
that must be watered from the
mountains to the west of the
San Luis Valley. Nov if you will
count the townships lying be
tween the valley and the Cont
mental Divide, you will find you
have eighty-nine mountainous
townships, including those along
the Los Pinos in New Mexico, ag-
gregating approximately two mil
lion ninety-six thousand acres.
From these two million acres of
mountainous land we must derive
irrigation water for more than
one million acres of valley land.
For ea'h acre of land to be irri-
gated we only have two acres of
mountainous land to supply the ir-
rigation water. And, except for
the fact that we have in this
district more than three hundred
miles of mountain range, including
spurs traversing said region, all
Of which extend above timber
line, and where the annual pre-
cipitation averages from thirty to
sixty inches, our shortage of
water under present conditions
of its use-direct flow from the
river-would have been manifest
long ago, and with a much less
acreage under cultivation than
dI ~ cotnI. As IL 10, Nitl Illc Val
ley sparsely settled and only a
small per cent of its acreage in
actual cultivation, we have been
getting along fairly well.
Possibly not to exceed one
man in five of those who own
land and water rights for their
lands in the valley is using the
water on the lands. Yet when the
irrigation season comes on the
headgates of the various bitches
are thrown wide open, taking the
full appropriation allowed them.
This water is all used by those
who are farming the land now
That is the water which will ul-
(1Dpately be used on the vacant
Hands now held by spectators
and is at present being used
on the cultivated lands of resi-
dents. What will be the effect
when each and every quarter
section is using the water now
appropriated to it? Will it
not evidently cut down the guam
tity now Ienjoyed by those culti-
waiting the landq In our opinion
it will. In our opinion some
means must be provided to store
and conserve every drop of water
that falls within our drainage
basin. Our water not only needs
conservation by storage reser-
voirs, but the most economical use
in its application to the land.
Every practicable method of us
ing seepage water Of our drain
age bitches will have to be en-
ployed, and the water used over
and over as many times as the
slopes and contour of the val
ley will permit. But the matter
is to store the water which in
flood seasons, winter and non
irrigation months, flows across
the valley down the Rio Grande
and on into the ocean unused
and wasted.
In the last ten years there has
been three years in each of which
more than 100000 acre feet of
water have passed by unused dur
ing the flood season in the month:
of May, June and July. In addi-
ton to this waste of our avail
able resources the loss is near
] L i l.