SEEPAGE OR RETURN WATERS FROM IRRIGATION. 
39 
and Sterling. The river overflows the bottoms many years, and did 
so in 1893, 1894 and 189o, and soaks them with water sometimes 
for a considerable period. More water is applied in the bottom 
irrigation than in the uplands. The practice of fall irrigation 
is very extensively followed. The river then having sufficient 
water, all the lands with few exceptions are soaked. We do not 
have measurements to show how much water is thus applied, but 
from what I observed, and from the conditions, the watering seems 
to be relatively a very profuse one. This land receives more water 
than an equal area on the Poudre, and is, as a whole, much closer 
to the river. These conditions tend to give a more profuse and a 
speedier return to the Platte. 
On the Upper Platte, the conditions have not been under obser¬ 
vation, and the areas are not well known. The seepage of fully half 
a million acres drains into this portion of the Platte and the tributar¬ 
ies which flow into it. In the cases of the latter, the construction 
of numerous seepage ditches have interfered with the natural flow 
of the water, so that the amount which reaches the river is much 
less than the total amount of seepage. A portion of the land irri¬ 
gated from these lateral streams drains directly into the Platte. 
This is especially the case with Clear creek. According to the 
reports of the Superintendent of Irrigation of this division to the 
State Engineer, there have been, using round numbers, 58,000 
acres irrigated in district No. 2, including the Platte from Denver 
to the mouth of the Poudre; 39,500 in district 8, which includes 
the Platte from Denver to the canon. This is a total of 98,000 
acres irrigated directly from the Platte. In addition to this there 
are about 45,400 acres draining into the Platte which are irrigated 
from Bear creek, Clear creek, St. Vrain and Big Thompson, making 
a total of 143,000 acres lying along the Platte and tributary thereto. 
This sum is rather above than below the truth. Comparing with 
the total inflow, we have an average return of 332 cubic feet per 
second from 143,000 acres, or one cubic foot per second from 430 
acres. 
During the first four measurements the average return was 
264 second-feet, and during the last three, 423 second-feet. The 
latter is at the rate of one second-foot for each 238 acres. It is cer¬ 
tain that many acres of the land in this valley returns but little 
water to the stream. W hether the rate of increase noted in the table 
from year to year will continue, further measurements are necessary 
to determine. 
RELATION BETWEEN SEEPAGE AND AMOUNT OF WATER APPLIED. 
§ 29. An attempt was made to determine the amount of land 
the drainage of which enters each of the lateral channels and 
enters the river between the points of measurement, thinking that 
