Rocky Ford enterprise., 1915-07-09
IRRIGATION INFORMATION
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these districts is not entitled to water
| from all of its sources, consequently
there may be times when some lands
are short while their immediate
neighbors have plenty. For example,
a district which secured its supply
from western river, found after sew
eral years of operation that accord
ing to the decree governing its allot-
ment of water it had more than a
sufficient supply during the early part
of the season but through the hot
dry months, their supply fell short.
They therefore utilized several small
lakes in the vicinity as storage reser-
| voirs. Still being without an ade-
| guate supply, they filed on additional
| flood water and built large reser-
voir in the mountains. A number OF
| nonresident land owners, not appre-
ciating the value of these improve
| ments, did not participate in them,
| consequently there are now lands in
| this district which have water right
only in the old river ditch, others
have water right i'll the river ditch
and the small reservoir, while the
large majority have all three. A
stranger. unfamiliar with the COM
plex water situation, could be easily
mislcd into buying a tract OF land
having full water right in the origi-
nal ditch but still be without suifi-
cient water right for irrigation at all
seasons.
The matter of water maintenance
cost should also be looked into. In
some modern irrigation systems,
this cost is as low as three dollars
an acre year, while in other older
districts, where much timbered tlum-
ing is used, the cost runs as high as
10 to IL dollars an acre year.
1t is the practice OF modern land
irrigation projects to bring the water
TO the district to be irrigated in large
canals and then distribute the water
throughout the district by means of
main laterals and from these through
small laterals or bitches to the indi
vilual farmer. The main canal and
large distributing laterals are consid-
cred part OF the irrigation plant and
are maintained, and the distribution OF
water through them governed, by the
district. while the small laterals are
cared for by the farmers or growers
supplied by them.
1t should be the aim therefore, to
secure a ranch as near the headgate
of the main lateral as possible, The
reason for this is two-fold. The
maintenance cost of the canal and
main lateral is borne by the members
OF the district in proportion to the
acreage they own, while the cost OF
maintaining the small laterals gener-
ally falls more heavily upon the own
er at the far end For instance, num-
l.. Al. L..
numbers one or two would be assessed
less than six to 10, because they are
interested in less length of ditch.
Furthermore, the distribution of the
water in the small laterals is left to
the users, consequently numbers one
or two do not experience as much
trouble securing their allotment of
water as number six or 10. One of the
peculiarities OF the trade seems to be
that numbers one to FIVE never feel
the necessity OF irrigating until num-
Der seven gets the water well started
across his field, when they begin to
cut in. As a consequence, number
seven's head OF water is reduced, and
he spends much valuable time tramp
ing back and forth to the main head
gate OF his lateral, endeavoring to
persuade his neighbors to allow a suf-
ficient amount of water to come to
him to give him an irrigating head.
These difficulties are entirely over
come by the use OF the more modern
cement lateral and cement headgate
irrigation systems.
The question of soils is of much less
importance in irrigated than in hui
mid sections, for the reason that most
western soils range from 10 to 80
Faa Il 1,
tility. Furthermore the amount of
available fertile land is so far in cx-
cess OF the water available for its ir-
rigation, that it would be very short
sighted policy, indeed, which would
lead an irrigation company or district
to include poor land. The selection
OF irrigated farm lands differs from
that in humid sections. in that high
or mesa lands are preferred to the
river or bottom land so praised by
the eastern farmer The close prox-
unity OF the water level makes these
lowlands unsuitable for fruit grow
ing. and the seepage and return waters
from the higher irrigated lands rem
der them very alkaline.
Good drainage is essential to per-
manency in an irrigated district.
Where the rainfall is abundant, the
soluble salts in the soil are carried
away, but in the arid sections where
the rainfall is slight and the cvapora-
ton is great, these salts are deposited
near the surface. The application of
irrigation water will dissolve them and
il the drainage is good, they will be
carried away but if the drainage is
defective these alkali salts will accu-
mulate until plant life will sease. This
result is more generally found in the
heavy adobe soil than in the light
shalc soils which have for this reason
been found to be more adapted to
fruit growing, as the limestone shalcs
of the west not only offord much