Preliminary Report on the Duty of Water. 
BY L, G. CARPENTER. 
In the course of investigations relative to questions relating to 
irrigation begun by this section of the Experiment Station, the de¬ 
termination of the duty of water as under the conditions of Colorado 
practice, seemed one of the first questions to be undertaken. Since 
with us in Colorado—as indeed throughout all of the arid West—the 
land far exceeds the water supply, the ultimate extent of our irri¬ 
gated area, and therefore of our profitable agriculture, depends upon 
the use we make of our water. If lavishly used, our productive area 
is correspondingly limited; if wisely and economically used, the 
greater will be the area capable of supporting a population, and con¬ 
sequently the greater will be our public wealth. It is, therefore, a 
matter of public importance to determine our limitations, either of 
practice or of necessity. The question is of great financial importance 
to the public. The current value of water rights indicates the value of 
the water in the consideration of the community. In most cases the 
water rights are subject to the uncertainties of the streams, and cannot 
be absolutely relied upon to furnish water when most needed. Never¬ 
theless, they^ are currently rated even in the new communities at from 
$10 to $15 per acre, and when the rights are certain to furnish the water 
the value is greater* All recognize that the greater part of the price 
of the land in farming districts is in the water. Take av/ay the 
water, or the possibility of getting water, and the land in most cases 
would bring but little. In the older communities the market value 
has a constant upward tendency, and there is every reason to think 
this will continue. As the value of the water is in the product 
which it assures or produces, rather than in its absolute quantity, 
any increased duty, due to greater skill in application, improved 
methods, or from saving of losses in the canals or ditches, or on the 
farm, will increase the area which may be brought under cultivation 
with the same amount of water. At present we have something like 
1,500,000 acres under cultivation in this State. A doubling of the 
duty would increase the public wealth of the State from this source 
alone by $20,000,000 at the present estimates of water rights, and 
an increase of 25 per cent, would mean an increase of $5,000,000 
from this source alone. But as the most of the agricultural wealth 
of the State is possible only with water, the increase of homes and of 
