378 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE VALUE OF A HIGH DUTY OF WATER AND THE 



MEANS OF OBTAINING IT. 



Amount and Value of Irrigation Water. 



BY SAMUEL FORTIER 

 Irrigation Engineer, in charge Pacific District Irrigation and Drainage Investigations, Office 6l Experimental Stations. 



There are now used on the irrigated portions of 

 the United States about five million miners' inches of 

 water annually. The cost of this for each miners' 

 inch varies all the way from 50 cents to $150, and 

 would average in the neighborhood of $500 per miners' 

 inch. This represents a yearly expenditure of $25,000,- 

 000 for water to irrigate land. 



Assuming that the area irrigated is ten million 

 acres and that the average cost of applying water each 

 irrigation season is $2.50 per acre, the yearly expendi- 

 ture for this purpose on all the land irrigated would 

 aggregate an additional $25,000,000. 



Thus it appears that the farmers of the irrigated 

 districts of America are expending annually about 



Prof. Samuel Fortier, Berkeley, Cal, 



$50,000,000 for water and for the labor and equipment 

 necessary in supplying it to cultivated crops. The 

 sole purpose of spending so vast a sum each year is to 

 produce food stuffs for the subsistence of man and the 

 domestic animals under his care. It is, however, no 

 exaggeration to state that in the accomplishment of 

 this purpose fully 70 per cent of the money and labor 

 spent in securing and applying water is wasted. 



We believe this fact has been fully demonstrated, 

 that for every 100 miners' inches diverted from natural 

 streams and storage reservoirs less than 30 miners' 

 inches are utilized by cultivated plants in a beneficial 

 way. This means that out of an expenditure of $50.- 

 000,000 a year less than $15,000,000 is put to a bene- 

 ficial use. How to save a part of the $35,000,000 worth 

 of water which is now wasted is one of the problems 

 connected with this subject of irrigation. If you were 

 to ask me if it were possible to save all of the water 



which is now wasted and all of the money now used in 

 furnishing and applying it, I would answer- No. It 

 is, however, possible and entirely within the province 

 of feasibility and profitable investment to save a large 

 part of this waste. 



SOME REASONS FOR INCREASING THE. DUTY. 



Many reasons might be advanced in favor of a 

 more economical use of irrigation water. To begin 

 with, there is the question of cost. If it be a fact that 

 nearly three-fourths of the water taken from streams 

 for irrigation purposes is wasted, then a saving of 

 even one-third of this loss would represent an immense 

 gain. 



It is likewise true that water is every year becom- 

 ing more difficult to secure and of higher value. The 

 rapid growth of Western cities has multiplied the 

 demand for water for municipal purposes, the develop- 

 ment of water privileges for electric transmission lines 

 has utilized the streams for mechanical purposes and 

 the extension of the irrigated area has made increased 

 drafts on all sources of water supply. 



Another reason for insisting upon a higher duty 

 of water in irrigation at the present time is that cus- 

 toms soon crystallize into law. Men who appropriate 

 and use water in a slipshod manner for a number of 

 years will lay claim not only to that portion which 

 they use. but to that larger portion which they waste. 



Furthermore, the prosperity and material greatness 

 of western America is founded upon the water supply, 

 and every gallon that is wasted detracts that much from 

 the possibilities of this region. The State of Montana 

 may serve to illustrate what I mean. Montana occu- 

 pies the crest of the continent, and, compared with 

 other arid States, is well watered. Its total area of 

 93,000,000 acres contains some of the finest agricul- 

 tural lands on this continent. These arable lands would 

 probably exceed 15,000,000 acres in extent, and might 

 reach 20,000,000 acres. Yet the total area that is ever 

 likely to be irrigated from streams, reservoirs and wells 

 will not exceed, we believe, 6,000,000 acres. On account 

 of the limitations of the water supply, the short period 

 of vegetable growth, and the long distance between 

 many of the irrigated tracts and the nearest rivers, 

 only a small part of the arable land of Montana can 

 ever be irrigated. This estimate of a total of 6,000,000 

 acres is based on an average duty of water of two acre- 

 feet per annum. The average use of water in that State 

 is now over four acre-feet and if no improvements in the 

 use of water are brought about the limit will be reached 

 when three million acres are irrigated. This shows 

 what the ultimate difference in one of the Western 

 States will be between a low and high duty. It is the 

 difference between 3,000,000 irrigated acres and 6,000,- 

 000 acres. It is the difference between a total yearly 

 revenue from irrigated agriculture of $45,000,000 and 

 $90,000,000. 



Finally, the excessive use of water on irrigated 

 lands water-logs the soil in low lying places, brings up 



