FEATURES AND WATER RIGHTS OF YUBA RIVER. 143 



catehment area is small, l)ut as it is commanded bj' the Eureka Lake Ditch it can 

 always be filled. Its level has been raised by a small dam 22 feet high, so that it 

 now covers 83.5 acres and has a capacity of 150,000,000 cubic feet. 



This company owns several other small lakes, including Jackson Lake, which 

 have an estimated capacity of 75,000,000 cubic feet. The entire system of reservoirs 

 places at their disposal 9.34,000,000 cubic feet of water, which, by raising the dams, 

 could be increased to 1,376,900,000 cubic feet. 



Weaver Lake was tapped by the Miners Ditch, which has a capacity of 700 

 inches. A large portion of this canal was composed of a wooden flume peculiarly 

 supported by chains to the side of the canyon. That portion of the flume which was 

 on the south bank of the Middle Yuba was washed out in 1883, at the time of the 

 break of the English Dam, and it has not been replaced. The waters of Weaver 

 Lake could be turned into the Middle Yuba and taken up by the San Juan Ditch, 

 but the ditch is out of repair. 



The principal canal of this system is the Eureka Lake Ditch, which cost $430,250. 

 It takes water from Faucherie Lake and carries it down the divide to Columbia Hill. 

 Its total length, including distributing ditches, is 54 miles. Its capacity is 2,500 

 miner's inches. 



In 1876 the company had 154 miles of ditches, with a total capacity of 25,150 

 miner's inches. These ditches could supply only 8,800 inches during the wet season 

 and 4,600 during the dry season. The cost of the ditches and reservoirs of the 

 system is as follows: 



Cod of Summit Irrigation Company's works. 



Eureka Lake and flume 1256, 000 



Smaller ditches, water right, etc l"-t, 2.50 



Eureka Lake Dam 35, 000 



Faucherie Dam , original 8, 000 



Smaller dams 2, 000 



Other connecting ditches and water rights 68, 000 



Miners Ditch and reservoir 180, 000 



Distributing reservoir 50, 000 



Middle Yuba Canal or San Juan Ditch from river to Manzanita Hill 261, 766 



Manzanita Hill to Birch Hill 31, 227 



Distributing reservoir below San Juan 18, 000 



Total 1,084,242 



It may be interesting to give some figures in regard to the cost of maintenance 

 and sales of water under the system. The total cost of maintenance of these ditches 

 for the eleven years, 1866-1876, was $936,433.48, and the average cost per year was 

 185,403. During these eleven years the company's sales of water amounted to 

 $1,988,603. 



The company first started to sell water to the various miners along the ridge, but 

 later it acquired mining property of its own and used a large portion to work its own 

 ground. Very little water is sold for irrigation, the annual returns not exceeding 

 $200. There are no established rules in regard to its use and price. The water i& 

 used principally on the small farms and orchards in the vicinity of Moores Flat. 



