18 



There is little irrigation along the South Platte in Nebraska. The 

 report of the State board of irrigation for 1901-2 shows 14 ditches, 

 with a total length of 107 miles, covering 43,;]00 acres. No state- 

 ment is given shoAving the part of the land under ditch wdiich is irri- 

 gated, but it does not exceed one-half. There are no reservoirs along 

 this section of the river. 



None of the above figures, showing water supply, water rights, 

 number of ditches and reservoirs, and acreages irrigated should be 

 taken as exact, but they give a general view of conditions in the 

 South Platte Valley. In the upper districts along the main river 

 agriculture is not highly developed, but large areas of hay and grain 

 are raised. In the vicinity of Denver, l)()th on the main stream and 

 the tributaries to the north of Denver, large areas are devoted to 

 small fruits and vegetables. To the north of this, on the tributaries, 

 is the section where the storage of Avater has made possible the raising 

 of potatoes and sugar beets, and increased yields of alfalfa. 



Below these tributaries on the main stream the stage of develop- 

 ment declines steadily, not only throughout the course of the stream 

 in Colorado, but on to its mouth in Nebraska. But the construction 

 of reservoirs and the accompanying advance in the values of crops 

 raised is gradually progressing down the stream and may be expected 

 to continue to do so. 



Records of the diversions of water by the principal ditches in seven 

 out of ten districts, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, i), 2, 1 (see map, PI. I), in Colo- 

 rado were obtained by ]Mr. Adams in 1903, and crop returns mider 

 five ditches, covering 24,329 acres, were also secured. Mr. Adams 

 sums up his results as folloAvs: 



Dviring the irrigation season of l!l()3, tlie farmers of Colorado used in irriga- 

 tion practically the entire tlow of Sonth Platte Kiver and tributaries, besides 

 diverting a small supplemental supply from the basins of Grand, North Platte, 

 and Laramie rivers. During the preceding nonirrigating period and after the 

 irrigation season of 19(13. the flow of the principal tributaries was almost 

 wholly diverted into reservoirs, the total amount stored for use in 1903 having 

 been over 200,0(10 acre-feet. The seasonal mean of the daily diversions by the 

 l)rinci])al ditches of the South I'latte system except those in district 23, in part 

 estimated, was about 2,(500 cubic feet per second. Running continuously from 

 May through September, this amounted to 788,99(5 acre-feet, and at the average 

 return per acre-foot used under live representative ditches in South Platte 

 basin made possible a gross return of .'f4,(>2:),r)17. Adding to this the retiu'u 

 made possible by the 200,000 acre-feet of stored water figxu-ed at the same rate, 

 which is low for stored water, the total return to the farmers of Colorado 

 situated in this basin was over .i;.~>.."»( )( ).( Mio. The irrigation season lu-gan in 

 April in some of the districts and lasted through November on the main South 

 Platte below Denver. 



To this should be added the returns from 122 small ditches scat- 

 tered throughout all the districts. The ditches for which crop 

 returns were secured are not those where the highest returns are 



