22 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



CONSERVING FLOOD WATERS IN NEW MEXICO 



By ALICE STEVENS TIPTON 



At the pres- 

 ent time there 

 are approxi- 

 mately 822,000 

 acres of land un- 

 der irrigation in 

 the State of New 

 Mexico, and ac- 

 cording to the 

 estimate of the 

 state engineer, 

 the surface 

 waters alone, of 

 this big state, 

 are sufficient to 

 irrigate not less 

 than 4,000,000 

 acres. This esti- 

 mate, however, 

 does not include 

 the annual flood 

 waters which 

 sweep down the 

 mountains fol- 

 lowing a heavy 

 rain or the sud- 

 den melting of 

 the snows, ex- 

 cepting only as 

 they go to in- 

 crease the capac- 

 ity of the run- 

 ning streams. 



It would be 

 difficult to esti- 

 mate accurately 

 the amount of 

 water annually 

 wasted in New 

 Mexico, through 

 lack of storage 

 facilities to conserve these flood waters. 



That portion of the great Rocky Mountain 

 range which extends through the center of the state 

 from north to south, forms a magnificent water 

 shed and innumerable small streams and arroyos 

 serve as conduits through which the waters from 

 the mountains find their way over rolling foot-hills 

 and undulating plains to the larger streams which 

 drain the valley lands. During normal conditions 

 these small water courses are able to carry off all 

 the surface moisture, but when the heavy summer 

 rains fall in the higher ranges, or when the snows 

 begin to melt in the spring, there is apt to be a 

 surplus of water which gradually increases in vol- 

 ume until it not infrequently becomes a raging tor- 

 rent, tearing down these shallow arroyos and 

 sweeping everything before it, and while it serves 

 as a cleansing stream in carrying off accumulated 

 refuse, and never lasts long at a time, it sometimes 

 does serious damage to crops and roadways that 



MR. ROBERT P. ERVIEN, COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS OF THE STATE 



OF NEW MEXICO. 



Many of the state lands of New Mexico are so situated as to be available for agricul- 

 tural purposes if the flood waters were conserved for 'irrigation. Other tracts of these 

 public lands come under the dry farming methods of cultivation. 



stand in its path, 

 and is one of the 

 difficulties with 

 which some of 

 the farmers of 

 New Mexico 

 have to contend. 

 It is safe to as- 

 sume that there 

 is enough water 

 wasted in this 

 manner annually, 

 if it could be 

 p r o p e rly con- 

 served, to irri- 

 gate all the lands 

 which align 

 these small 

 Water courses ; 

 lands which 

 without irriga- 

 tion are not so 

 profitable for 

 agricultural pur- 

 poses. 



In many cases 

 these flood 

 waters follow 

 courses which 

 are nothing but 

 dry arroyos ex- 

 cepting during 

 these periods of 

 flood, and to any 

 one not acquaint- 

 ed with this pe- 

 culiarity of New 

 Mexico, it would 

 seem ridiculous 

 to attempt, or 

 even to suggest 



the controlling of flood waters in a dry wash. But 

 it has been done already, with such success in a 

 number of cases, that its practicability is no longer 

 a matter of doubt, and, wherever other conditions 

 are favorable to such a project, it is of great value 

 to the lands in more ways than one. While con- 

 serving the flood waters for irrigation purposes it 

 also prevents their becoming a menace to growing 

 crops. 



In all cases, however, it is of paramount im- 

 portance that the sub-soil shall be of such a char- 

 acter as to insure the permanency of any dam and 

 reservoir which might be constructed, else discour- 

 aging results are sure to follow. In volcanic for- 

 mations there is danger of the waters percolating 

 through the soil and all one's work might go for 

 nothing in a few hours' time. But, in the construc- 

 tion of either a dam or reservoir it is always advis- 

 able to have the services of a competent engineer, 

 one thoroughly familiar with local conditions. 



