The new era., 1912-08-01
PREVENTION OF WASTE
Development Of West Depends on
Full Water Supply.
Larger Saving VIII Be Effected In Fv-
turs ~ Il 10 Found That Lees lrrs'
cation 10 Nssdsd-Msasurs-
ment Checks Loss.

fBy L. q. CARPENTER. Colorado Asra-
cultural Collsge.)
Tho prevention OF waste Of water
10 matter Of public importance. The
land suitable for irrigation 30 mucn
exceeds the water supply. not only In
Colorado. but throughout the West
that the agricultural development de-
pends ON the use Of the supply to III
fullest capacity. Though tho building
Of storage reservoirs. tho stopping OF
waste. improved methods Of irrigation
which were all recommended In Bul-
letin 1S (1890) have been carried. out
to . great extent and the agricultural
products. II not the agricultural area,
has greatly increased. and much I'M
provement In measurement has come.
the pressure remains about the same.
A larger saving will be effected In the
future a. It 10 found that less Quanti'
ties Of water are needed: subdivision
into smaller and smaller streams be-
comes necessary and measurement
will become more exact, and It Will
be justinable to expend larger sums
for exact devices.
Aside from the accuracy. . good
system Of measurement saves . large
amount Of water. A careful account 10
known to be the basis OF sound
finance. An accounting. in itself. pro-
duces economy for It causes an arrest
Of thought. and directs attention to the
matters under consideration. and re-
veals the source Of waste. 1t 10 Also
true in water administration. The
very fact that water 10 measured
checks extravagance. II It be not
measured the idea 10 easily fostsred
that It 10 not valuable enough. The
mere fact that measurement 10 made
and an account kept. makes each user
more careful. In bitches where NJ at
tempt has been made to control the
use by individuals. It 10 surprising to
notice the saving caused by f,epinS
an account and thus showing how
much each has used and to compare
one with another. In cities II II well
known that the mere installation OF
water meters and keeping account of
the water used by each individual.
often reduces the consumption to one
third what It was before. and yet no
one has suffered. When water II plen-
tiful. a system. or lack Of system.
works without trouble. The practice
then Is to give water enough to stop
complaint. When the water becomes
scarce, then inexactness in measure
ment means that some one gets more
than his share. This means that some
else gets less, and the result may be
serious upon the crops.
In all parts Of the state where the
pressure for water Is felt. there has
been a great increase In the value OF
land. and this is almost entirely from
the increase in the value Of water.
Reservoirs have been built at an ex-
pense Of millions of dollars to take ad-
vantage OF streams Of water that few
years since were considered to be in
significant. This increase in the value
Of water has only begun. and therefore
the conditions which Justify pains and
expense to obtain accurate measure
ments will increase. Companies will go
to much greater expense for this par
ocular purpose than they now consider
justifable. 1t Is true that the present
practice is generally behind what
could reasonably be expected from
present conditions.
Even now In the exchange between
reservoirs in northern Colorado, the
companies have found 1t justifable to
employ a skilled person for that par
Ocular work, at considerable expense.
The statement made in the first edi-
ton may be repeated:
"There will never be an easier time
for arranging satisfactory measure
ments than now; for the demand will
not be less. and with time and the in
crease In the value of water. there will
be many who will feel that they have
rights vested In certain methods OF
measurements which may be intrin-
sically unjust"
SAVING OF WATER AND TIME