The Arvada enterprise., 1924-01-10

dams were constructed In the bottom Of the canyon
and In nearly all the available draws leading Into
tho main channel whsrs aood waters could be N.
tescspted and stored. The highest dam 70 fu
found Ia few inches over avs feet In heisht. and
tne extreme length Of any dam % approximately
forty feet. These were built In series (eishty
ax In quarter mile In the main canyoa), that the
extreme water level In the lower one reached 10
Tue base of the next dam above. Many Of them
are less than fifteen feet apart, and some M,
out foot or two In height.
Water could have never been carried di,sr,l,
from the reservoirs to the fields above becaus.
OF the depth Of the reservoirs below the aysisb,.
farfninG land. Women and children evldentlv fol
l"we'! the method Of many of the present Pueblo
induns. carrying jars Of water on the head oye,
the trails to the crops to be irrigated
During heavy showers. the upper reservoirs wer,
inc hrst to MI and a. they overdowed. the lowe:
dams were filled. Since they were all for the mos,
part built directly on the great sandstone caD which
forms the upper 100 to 20 feet Of the Mesa Verde
the water was rapidly absorbed BY the sandstone
and soon disappeared from the reservoirs above,
But II WIS not lost Separating the upper can
Of sandstone from the lower Of equal thicknes,
Ia an imperviOus seam Of shale from few inches
to foot or more In thickness and since this hs,
a slope TO the southwark. the water seeming
through from the reservoirs above. saturated the
sandstone to this impervious shale seam, and fol.
lowed Il AOuthward with the slOpe Of the cOun.
try to the point where u WAS exposed at itS con.
nuence with the main canyon. Live sprines were
maintained at the exposed shale seam, and onls
In this way could water be obtained through ionp
periods Of drought which still persist on the Mesa
Verde.
Adopting the methods Of the anclent CrR Dwell
Srs. two large dams were constructed on the rim
rock n, the head Of Spruce Tree canyon, above the
old stock reservoir. and drainage bitches were CON
strcte,i 10 increase the surface run OF that could
be conducted to these reservoirs. -Four r,ore rcs
ervoirs will be constructed shove this fr,t series
this coming season. Al the head Of the CANYON i'm
to loO feet bel"w n trench nearly 80 feet long
gathers the water which filters through the thlck
sandstone cup or natural hter and conducts IL IN
cement cisierns from which II 10 pumped l75 fee,
above 10 the storage tanks where Il IL held for
camp uses.
The larger the series OF reservoirs above ,hs
greater the area Of sandstone that Ii saturated
and since the movement Of the water through the
great bed ~ sandstone Ia slow. the wnter which
enters the reservoirs In the early spring from ,hs
melting SHOWS Is the wntcr which cnrries tho
camp through the long summer periods Of drought
"Thc water when rrgninc, Ia OF the flnest mai,
lty no matter how dirty II appears above" sult
Mr. Eusbnum. ITO corroborate this statemcn,
the stnte chemist nt Boulder reported tina, even
when the water wns nt Its worst and lowest xtsr,
In the reservoirs above. only 40 bacteria ver,
found In the unit sample submitted. which IL q
remarkably low count Because OF the ynst Ate,
use the water II particularly clear and Ii ueari,
M cold - Ice water"