40 BULLETIN 1026, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The original water supply of the canal was of practically no value 
and the constant endeavor of the company to build up a reliable 
supply has resulted in the acquisition of various reservoirs, canals, 
and rights. 
The main canal of the system heads in the North Fork of the Cache 
la Poudre in section 12, T. 10 N., R. 71 W., and is about 25 miles long, 
including 4 or 5 miles of natural channel in Campbell Draw. The 
bottom width at the head is 22 feet, the maximum depth of water 
carried is 3.3 feet, and the maximum capacity is 200 second-feet. 
There is comparatively little irrigation from this canal, but it sup- 
plies the lower reservoirs of the system from which the distributing 
laterals extend. 
The Scurvin Ditch leaves the main canal a short distance above 
Campbell Draw and supplies a large area along the Boxelder but 
above the main canal. It also serves as an intake canal for Reservoir 
No. 15. 
The company is also interested in the Poudre Valley Canal to the 
extent of a first right to the use of the canal as a carrier both to store 
water in Reservoirs No. 5 and No. 6 and for direct irrigation of 
lands just north of Fort Collins. 
In addition, the company owns the Michigan Ditch, which diverts 
water from tributaries of the Michigan River into the Cache la 
Poudre. Water from this ditch may be used directly through the 
Poudre Valley canal or in the main canal by exchange. 
The total storage capacity available for the system is close to 
53,000 acre-feet, as is shown by the accompanying list of the com- 
pany's reservoirs. The most valuable reservoir of the company is 
Halligan, which is in the bed of the North Fork several miles above 
the head of the main canal. In addition to commanding all the land 
irrigated by the system " temporary " storage of direct flow rights 
in it is permitted by court decree. Reservoir No. 15 derives its value 
from the fact that it also is above the main canal and commands a 
large part of the total acreage of the system. 
Water stored in Reservoirs No. 5, and No. 6, Fossil Creek Reservoir, 
and Portner Reservoir can be used only by exchange, but the}^ are 
essential features of the system. The available supply for the Fos- 
sil Creek Reservoir has been such that its filling was practically as- 
sured each year. The rights of the North Poudre company in this 
reservoir are subject, however, to the prior satisfaction of preferred 
rights aggregating 150,000,000 cubic feet or 3,444 acre feet. 
The company is part owner of the Boxelder Ditch & Reservoir Co. 
and secures several hundred acre-feet of stored water from this source 
each year. 
