304 THE I R RIG A Tl ON A GE. 



water may flow, and at which the division may be made. If such pre- 

 cautions be taken this method of division may be made to satisfy the 

 conditions of a great number of cases. With care the discrepencies 

 need not be excessive. 



In the case where a canal has the right to a certain volume of 

 flow from a stream, the Colorado laws provide a quite successful 

 scheme for the division. They are ordinarily called rating flumes. 

 One kind is of the same width as the canal, and the bottom of it on the 

 same grade as the canal. It supplies a short portion of the canal 

 with a permanent bed and sides. The amount of water that will pass 

 through this flume, at various depths, is determined by measure- 

 ments with a water meter, and by that means a table of volumes, cor- 

 responding to various depths, may be made, or a constant may be de- 

 termined by which to modify the depth to change it to volume of flow. 

 A graduated guage is put on one side of the flume, so-that the water- 

 master or whoever has charge of the distribution can read the depth 

 and thus know by comparison with his table the volume of flow 

 through the canal. The rating flume is usually placed near the canal 

 headgates. In his report to the Governor last December, the State 

 Engineer of Utah described this method of division, and urged its use 

 in our State. 



As ordinarily constructed the divisors of water can rarely be ex- 

 act, but frequently the convenience of an approximate division is a 

 source of satisfaction. By an elaborate system of gates, weirs, etc , 

 it is doubtless possible to attain more accurate results than with the 

 above methods. However, in most of the cases these schemes will 

 suffice, and at least be a great improvement on the various ways of 

 guessing at just division. 



But after the water has been divided among the several canals, 

 probably the greatest problem yet remains to be solved, that of subdi- 

 viding the water among the irrigators. Is there a single man before 

 me today who has not at some time or other thought that he was not 

 getting his share of thf> water and that his neighbor was being 

 favored? 



The subdivision into irrigating streams surely needs attention 

 One method that is growing in favor is that of having two sets of 

 gates where the water leaves the canal, one controlled by the water- 

 master, and the other by those using the water. The waterm aster's 

 gate in ay be put in a certain position and locked, so that as long as 

 the water is at the same level in the canal the amount going out of the 

 canal cannot exceed a certain amount, and still by means of his gate 

 the irrigator may shut it off entirely. With this method, when the 

 depth of the water in the canal varies the flow through the gate will 

 vary also. 



The subdivision according to quantity may be made by means of 

 the Foote water meter. A gate in the main canal forces a portion of 



