76 



In (•()iii))utin<4- the duty of water under Middle Creek for the season 

 of 1*J<'2 the amounts used in July, Auj^ust, and Septeniher were accu- 

 rately determined, since the entire flow of the stream ^vas diverted 

 during" these three months. In June, however, there was a surplus 

 which was not measured, and for that month the duty is estimated as 

 follows: The total discharge for June was 13,250 acre-feet and for 

 Jul}' 7,115 acre-feet. As a rule, more water is used on the Middle 

 Creek farms in July than in June, but in arriving at the estimate the 

 utilized flow during June was made equal to that during Jul}. The 

 dutv of water for the season, as expressed in the following table, thus 

 becomes 2.33 feet in depth over the surface of S,[^6S acres, which cor- 

 responds to the continuous flow of 1 culjic foot per second for 10-1 

 acres, or of 1 miner's inch for 2.1 acies. 



IhUj^ of ivater under Middle Cree\ for tJie year 1902, June to September, inclusive. 



Area irrigated acres. . 8, 968 



Water used acre- feet. . 20, 862 



Depth feet. . 2. 83 



Acres per cul )it' foot per sei'ond 104 



Acres per miner's inch 2. 60 



WKST GALLATIN IKRIOATIOX COMPANY'S CANAL. 



This canal, which is one of the largest in Gallatin County, gets its 

 supply from the West Gallatin River. The intake is located at the 

 mouth of the canyon, and from this point the canal winds around the 

 river blufl's in a northwesterly direction for about -lo miles. The for- 

 mation varies from a loose vegetable loam on top to sand, gravel, and 

 bowlders beneath, overlying a soft sand rock. The softer portions of 

 this sand rock are readih' disintegrated b}" seepage water from the 

 canal, and whenever the top of this stratum coincides with the bottom 

 of the excavated canal, it is difficult to prevent water from percolat- 

 ing between the subsoil and this rock stratum. These unfavorable 

 conditions have caused a number of bad breaks in the upper portion 

 of the canal. The losses due to seepage on the main canal, described 

 elsewhere (see p. 93), form about one-third of the total volume 

 admitted at the intake. Small additional losses occur along the lines 

 of the various laterals. Then, too, much of the land under this canal 

 is undulating, with steep slopes cut up by ravines, and in attempting 

 to spread water over the surface more or less runs ofl' and serves no 

 useful purpose. These physical conditions, coupled with a somewhat 

 porous soil and crude methods of irrigation, account for the large 

 (|uantity of water which was applied to land under this canal in 1902. 

 The area irrigated was 2,343 acres. 



