Please note the legal disclaimer on the "Invasives page" and at the bottom of "About page" . Without irrigation water, much of the West would be desert as it was originally. Dams and irrigation projects, many sponsored by the Federal Government (USBR), has transformed worthless desert land into lush farm land. In addition to water for irrigation, many projects included the generation of electrical energy. The Boulder Canyon Project was such a project that included both electric generation in addition to water control. The NRCS group has helped farmers for many years to make their irrigation chores easier and more efficient. Many of the smaller projects involve the installation of underground PVC piping with risers and valves at strategic points to distribute the water. Because the NRCS group does not appear to have a web page detailing such installations, this page was created in an attempt to show such typical details.

Typically, from a main canal, water is distributed to water users by metering the flow through some type of flume. The concrete flume to the right is a delivery point between the Fire Mountain Canal and the Rogers Mesa Water Users Association. Downstream, the water is divided by simple movable wood planks arranged vertically. Downstream metal flumes are sometimes employed to aid in the further division of water.

Miche's link structure has changed again. I will continue to remove links to this service and substitute PDF documents. If you must and are brave go to this site.and look up Titles 7 and Titles 37 to access the same information.

Links are to the right. From my experience, the legal obligations of those who store, transport and supply irrigation resources many times dont abide by the letter of the law. I would advise all who read this to become familiar with the statutes. In the case of trouble, you can point out to the offending party what the statutes say. Failing that, I would advise seeking out and hiring an legal organization known to practice in the area of water law.

The following pictures show the construction of a small measuring flume that takes water from an irrigation canal, screens out the debris and then routes the water into underground piping. The thumbnails below run about 12K in size and clicking on the thumbnails will download about a 130-190K graphic of the same picture.

At this point, front and back concrete flume supports have been placed and the metal flume installed on a trial fit basis. 10 inch PVC pipe will enter the right hand concrete structure at a depth of about 30 inches to prevent freezing. Water flow is from left to right. The left and right Parshall flume flanges will eventually be sealed to the concrete structures with a tar like substance to prevent leakage. Fill below and around the metal flume is 3/4 gravel. This aids in preventing electrolysis/corrosion of the metal components. Additional zinc anodes from Home Depot were added later.

This picture is an end view of the structure. Water flow is towards you as you view the picture. The trash screen spec called for 3/8" bar spaced on 1 inch centers. The pictures shows the metal frame that will align and hold the bars rough fitted to the structure opening. Note two outside bars welded to the frame. At the bottom of the picture is the light blue plastic starter section that will receive the 10 inch underground plastic transmission pipe. Overflow, (there shouldn't be any) is routed to an open surface ditch/depression that runs parallel to the buried plastic pipe.

This picture shows the fabricated trash screen in place after a full seasons use. Water flow, though muddy at times, has been relatively free of trash. The screen was fabricated using MIG welding and then painted with primer and top coat.

This picture shows the field riser (alfalfa) valve and companion hydrant. The hydrant swivels 360 degs to deliver water in any direction. There are other configurations of valve and hydrant but these components are non-proprietary and available from a number of suppliers.

This picture shows one of several vacuum breakers installed on the system. These allow air to enter the underground piping as needed when changing watering zones (hydrant locations) or to accommodate normal flow through the underground piping..

- Herbicide Page -- Trees Page -- Weeds Page -- Organics Page

• Paonia Project
• History
• USBR Dams Listing
• NRCS Info. Site
• Flume Types
• Water Measurement Manual
• Parshall Flumes Obsolete?
• Fire Mountain Canal
• Bureau Publications
• Bridging The Headgate
• DARCA Organization

• Div. of Water Resources
• Water Rights
• Chap. 13
• Title 37 Owner/User Responsibility
• Title 7 - Ditch/Canal Companies
• New Easement Law
• Water Information Site
• Colorado Water Rights
• Colorado Water Law

• Utah Canal Bill
• Canal Politics
• Canal Break Video
• Canal Break Video II