WATER CONSERVATION FOR IRRIGATION AND OTHER PURPOSES. IX. 
moderate height and duration give rise to much benefit to 
the holders of the lower lands, high floods and floods which 
stand long on the land are frequently the cause of serious 
loss and inconvenience. Another serious source of loss 
with which the lower holders have to contend is the 
occasional failure of the supply inthe river. Unfortunately 
this is not an uncommon occurrence, and on such occasions 
the supply of water even for stock and domestic purposes 
is limited and unsatisfactory. It is thus obvious that if 
Measures can be taken which will diminish the height and 
shorten the duration of high floods and will also ensure a 
better supply of water during periods of low river, the 
position of the lower holders will be materially improved. 
That such measures, which will benefit both the lower and 
the upper landholders can be taken, is not a matter of 
mere theory but an ascertained fact. The best instances 
of the system to which I refer are furnished by the Colombo 
Creek in New South Wales, and the Wimmera River in 
Victoria, the former being typical of the system as applied 
to a creek of a character common in the Central and 
Western Divisions, and the latter being illustrative of the 
system as applied to a river like the Lachlan, the Mac- 
quarie, or the Gwydir. 
The Colombo Creek, which is an outflow creek from the 
Yanko, has a system of dams so complete that in some 
cases the water held back by one dam extends to the base 
of the dam next above. The dams have good natural by- 
washes which carry on any ordinary flow. The result of 
this state of affairs is that the bed and banks of the creek 
are always more or less saturated, and that in consequence 
when a freshet enters the creek it flows through more 
quickly than formerly, even when the levels of the water 
held back by the dams are exceptionally low. This of 
course indicates an improved condition throughout the 
whole length of the creek. 
